NEW YORK (AP) He is among the most well-known and highly esteemed business magnates in the planet. However, businesses like Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta are concerned about the detractors.
In a time when social tensions and online rage are increasingly focused on the companies that customers rely on, Meta invested $24.4 million last year in security measures, including guards and alarms, to ensure the safety of Zuckerberg and the company’s former CEO.
Well-known CEOs may surround themselves with security. However, the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson this week while he was walking alone on a sidewalk in New York City has brought attention to the wildly disparate methods that businesses use to safeguard their executives from danger.
Prior to being shot down, Thompson lacked personal security and seemed oblivious to the assailant.
According to analysts, the current political, economic, and technical environment will only make it more challenging to assess the risks facing executives and take appropriate measures to safeguard them.
Today, we are more adept at gathering signals. Fred Burton of Ontic, a company that sells threat management software to businesses, says, “I don’t think we’re any better at making sense of the signals we collect.”
Burton added, “I’ve been on the phone all day with some organizations asking for consultation, saying, Am I doing enough?” following Thompson’s shooting.
Top executives at some of the largest U.S. corporations, especially those in the technology industry, spend a lot of money on their personal and home security.
According to reports compiled by research firm Equilar, Meta, whose companies include Facebook and Instagram, recorded the greatest spending on top executives’ personal protection last year.
The Menlo Park, California-based company noted earlier this year in an annual shareholder disclosure that because Zuckerberg is synonymous with Meta, unfavorable attitude about our company is directly linked to and frequently attributed to Mr. Zuckerberg.
Before the business’s security staff was able to effectively take legal action against her in 2022, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, the largest tech company in the world by stock capitalization, was harassed by a stalker who wrote him sexually suggestive letters and even showed up outside his Silicon Valley home.
Security guards frequently accompany Cook when he makes public appearances. However, the $820,000 the company set aside last year to safeguard its senior executives pales in comparison to the sums spent by rival digital behemoths on CEO protection.
A little more than 25% of Fortune 500 businesses said they had invested in the protection of their CEOs and other senior executives. The typical personal security payment for those who did doubled to almost $98,000 over the past three years.
Because information about the venue and speakers is well published, many businesses consider investor meetings—like the one that Thompson was walking to at UnitedHealthcare when he was shot—to be extremely dangerous.
According to Dave Komendat, president of DSKomendat Risk Management Services, a company situated in the greater Seattle region, it allows personnel to arrive well in advance and inspect the space and see how people would likely enter and exit a facility.
In response, some businesses strengthen their security. For instance, tech firms frequently mandate that all attendees of significant events, like Apple’s yearly iPhone reveal or a shareholder meeting, pass through airport-style security checkpoints before being allowed entry.
Others—like Amazon, which conducts its annual shareholder meetings virtually—eschew face-to-face discussions with shareholders.
However, some corporate cultures strongly disapprove of that and demand that their executives be approachable by employees, shareholders, and others, Komendat added.
Depending on the business, this kind of strategy might be sensible. Because they work in fields and places that greatly reduce their vulnerability to dangers and public exposure, many high-ranking CEOs are not well-known to the general public.
According to David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations at the National Retail Federation, each organization has a unique requirement for and level of an executive-level protection program. In order to maintain the proper degree of security and safety, these precautions should also involve ongoing threat monitoring and flexibility.
According to Komendat, some firms have a protective intelligence department that searches through online comments using digital methods like artificial intelligence or machine learning to find risks on the dark web as well as social media sites like X. To identify threats, they search for comments made regarding the business, its personnel, and its management.
Senior executives in businesses are often the target of threats. According to Komendat, a large number of them lack credibility. The challenge is always to distinguish between someone who is merely venting with no intention of taking further action and someone who poses a genuine threat.
Despite the current environment, Burton, a former special agent with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, notes that organized groups that attack businesses are not very common.
These days, loners whose internet tirades are fueled by like-minded people are one of the main concerns. Corporate security analysts are responsible for focusing on this type of conversation and determining whether or not it poses a genuine threat.
Additionally, unhappy customers don’t just target CEOs. According to the National Safety Council, there were 525 workplace assault deaths in the United States in 2022. According to the group, cab drivers are more than 20 times more likely than other workers to be murdered on the job, and certain industries—such as healthcare, education, and service providers—are more violent than others.
However, some CEOs will undoubtedly start to question their strategy after UnitedHealthcare’s Thompson was ambushed this week.
According to Burton, at times like this, you will always get more ears listening to security experts who are looking for funding to strengthen executive protection.
Because I can assure you that no CEO in America is unaware of this episode.
___
New York writers Haleluya Hadero and Anne D. Innocenzio of the Associated Press also contributed.
The Associated Press, 2024. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. It is prohibited to publish, broadcast, rewrite, or redistribute this content without authorization.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!