UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel on Wednesday morning, sparking a search for his killer and an outpouring of condolences.
New York police say the suspect shot Thompson in the chest in a "brazen, targeted attack" at 6:46 a.m. ET outside of the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel — moments before the annual investor conference for UnitedHealthcare's parent company was set to begin.
Thompson, 50, lived in Minnesota but was visiting New York City for the conference, which has since been canceled. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
Within hours, a manhunt was underway for the gunman, and tributes to Thompson were circulating online.
"Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him," UnitedHealth Group said in a statement, adding that it is working closely with the NYPD. "Our hearts go out to Brian's family and all who were close to him."
He was CEO since 2021
UnitedHealthcare is the health benefits business within UnitedHealth Group, the country's largest private health insurer.
The Minnesota-based company is ranked 4th on the Fortune 500 and employs some 440,000 people worldwide. UnitedHealth Group is so dominant, in fact, that the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil antitrust suit just last month to try to block its proposed $3.3 billion acquisition of rival home health care and hospice agencies.
Thompson was named the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021.
"Brian's experience, relationships and values make him especially well-suited to help UnitedHealthcare improve how health care works for consumers, physicians, employers, governments and our other partners, leading to continued and sustained long-term growth," Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealth Group, said in a release at the time.
Thompson previously held a variety of executive positions — most recently as the CEO of UnitedHealthcare's government programs businesses, including Medicare — since joining UnitedHealth Group in 2004, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Before that, he had spent more than half a decade working as a CPA at the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC.
Thompson graduated from the University of Iowa in 1997 with a degree in business administration and accounting, according to LinkedIn.
He is a father of two
Thompson is survived by his wife and two children, according to media reports.
Thompson's sister-in-law, Elena Reveiz, told the New York Times that he was a good father.
"He was a good person, and I am so sad," she said.
Thompson's wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he had been receiving threats.
"Basically, I don't know, a lack of coverage? I don't know details, I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him," she said, adding that she couldn't give a more thoughtful response because she was trying to console her kids.
NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a midday news conference that while the motive for the shooting remains unclear, the preliminary investigation suggests it was a "premeditated, pre-planned targeted attack."
She said the suspect, wearing dark clothes and a mask, was "lying in wait for several minutes" before approaching Thompson from behind and firing several rounds.
Colleagues and public officials pay tribute
Several of Thompson's former colleagues shared recollections of him with the Minnesota Star Tribune on Wednesday, remembering him as a hard worker and a good person.
John Penshorn, a former UnitedHealth Group executive who worked with Thompson for more than a decade before his 2019 retirement, described him as "humble, a servant-leader and family man."
"He was just an incredible guy — nice, resourceful," said Steve Parente, a former Trump administration healthcare official who said he had worked with Thompson to implement the system for distributing federal financial aid to health care providers early in the COVID-19 pandemic. "This is just a total tragedy."
Elected officials from Thompson's home state of Minnesota — where UnitedHealthcare is a major employer — also paid their respects on Wednesday, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
"This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota," Walz wrote.
Copyright 2024 NPR