Brian Thompson—the 50-year-old CEO of the health insurance division of the $550 billion UnitedHealth Group—was killed Wednesday in what police reportedly believe was a targeted shooting in Manhattan ahead of an investor meeting.
Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare.
Thompson, who worked for UnitedHealth for almost two decades before he was promoted to CEO of insurance unit UnitedHealthcare in 2021, was shot just before 7 a.m. outside of the company meeting at the New York Hilton Midtown.
Media representatives for UnitedHealthcare and UnitedHealth Group did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment Wednesday.
Thompson joined UnitedHealth Group in 2004 and was CEO of UnitedHealthcare's government programs—including Medicare—before becoming CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer.
Thompson graduated from the University of Iowa in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, is a certified public accountant and worked for six years at accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) before joining United as director of corporate development, according to LinkedIn.
Thompson was a father to two children, according to his sister, Elena Reveiz, who told The Times he was a “good person.”
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, where UnitedHealth Group is based and where Thompson lived and worked, called the killing “horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota.”
John Penshorn, a former UnitedHealth Group executive who worked with Thompson for more than a decade, told the Minnesota Star Tribune Thompson was “humble, a servant-leader and family man.”
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Thompson was shot in the chest and was rushed to Mount Sinai West in critical condition, multiple outlets reported. The gunman was reportedly waiting outside of the hotel for some time before Thompson arrived, leading police to believe the attack was targeted. The shooting suspect was described as a white man wearing a cream-colored coat and black and white sneakers, who had a gray backpack and a black face mask. Police are planning to release photos of the man and are offering $10,000 to anyone with information.
UnitedHealth Group was ranked 19th on Forbes' list of the world's biggest companies in 2024. The company has a market valuation of over $560 billion and reported $6 billion in third quarter earnings. The number of people served by UnitedHealthcare commercial health insurance, the division overseen by Thompson, grew by 2.4 million in the first three quarters of the year, the company said. UnitedHealth Group is ranked No. 192 on Forbes' list of America's Best Companies and No. 272 on the list of America's Dream Employers.
“A lot of insurance companies were really rocked by the pandemic, but I’d say United Healthcare, the insurance side, has been kind of steady-as-you-go and well managed,” Bruce Japsen, a healthcare business expert and Forbes senior contributor, said Wednesday.