For 20 years, Brian Thompson, the health care executive killed in Manhattan on Wednesday, rose to the top of UnitedHealthcare.
The 50-year-old chief executive of a division of the conglomerate group UnitedHealth, the largest US health insurer, was shot in a car in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning by a masked assailant in what officials call a “targeted air attack.”
A University of Iowa alumnus, Thompson joined the company in 2004 from computer giant PricewaterhouseCoopers. He was named chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021 after serving in several other roles, most recently chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare’s marketing program.
UnitedHealth Group is the fourth-largest public company in the US after Walmart, Amazon and Apple.
A father of two, Thompson lived in a suburb of Minneapolis, about a 20-minute drive from the company’s headquarters.
His wife Paulette Thompson. he told NBC News that her husband had received threats.
“There were threats,” he said. “I don’t know the details. I just know that he said there were some people who threatened him. He said the police told him the shooting was a ‘planned fight.’
“He was a good man and I’m so sad,” said Elena Reveiz, Thompson’s sister. said the New York Times.
Thompson, whose division employs about 140,000 people, attended the company’s investor conference at the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. He was shot outside the hotel and later died in hospital. Police are still looking for his killer.
“We are deeply saddened and shocked at the passing of our dear friend and colleague Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare,” the company said. it is said in the announcement.
The firm added: “Brian was a respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him. We worked closely together New York police department and I ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time. Our hearts go out to Brian’s family and all those who were close to him.”