On Wednesday, ‘low-profile’ UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot to death outside of a hotel in Midtown Manhattan at which his company was holding their yearly shareholder meeting. The suspect, who took off on a rented Citi bike, [Ed. note: it appears this early statement about a Citi bike was later denied by NYPD] is still at large. NYC police said the crime was “brazen, targeted” and almost certainly premeditated.
His wife described 50-year-old Brian as “an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives” in a statement to CBS News. A Wall Street Journal article describes Thompson as “an ambitious but affable leader.”
The married father of two living in the Minneapolis suburbs was not the sort of CEO who makes regular appearances on CNBC. Even the press release announcing his appointment as CEO of UnitedHealthcare Group’s insurance arm in 2021 is pretty low key.
Thompson joined UnitedHealth Group in 2004 and most recently was CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s government programs including the Medicare & Retirement and Community & State businesses, serving the health and well-being needs of seniors and Medicaid beneficiaries. As CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Thompson will drive continued growth across the global, employer, individual, specialty and government benefits businesses while continuing the company’s focus on ensuring access to high-quality, affordable health care.
“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,” said Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealth Group.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Thompson started at PwC in 1997 when he would have been around 23 years old. He moved from audit to TAS in September 2002 and ultimately left the firm for UnitedHealthcare in 2004.
His profile states he is a formerly practicing CPA. A license lookup of Minnesota CPAs shows a license belonging to a Brian R. Thompson — the only Brian under that last name — was revoked. Up until recently, the Minnesota Board of Accountancy would automatically revoke any CPA license not renewed for two consecutive years. MNCPA lobbied to have this rule changed as licenses revoked under the old rule appeared on their surface to be no different from licenses revoked due to CPA malfeasance such as fraud or embezzlement. So we have no reason to believe his CPA license was forcibly revoked.
NYC police released new, edited images yesterday showing the suspected gunman who is described as 6’1″ with a tall, thin build. The suspect was masked at the time of the crime, NYC mayor Eric Adams said NYPD used “used good old fashioned police work” to unmask him.
Police are offering up to a $10,000 reward to anyone who can help solve this crime. NYC Crimestoppers can be reached at 800-577-TIPS.
WANTED-HOMICIDE: On 12/4/24@NYPDMTN in front of 1335 Avenue of the Americas Brian Thompson was shot and killed by an unknown perpetrator. Any info call us at 800-577-TIPS Reward UP to $10,000. pic.twitter.com/zefz0t8lwp
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) December 6, 2024
