Chief executives and other high-level corporate officers are seeking additional security protection after the brazen slaying of UnitedHealthcare's chief executive officer in New York, according to a top risk management firm. "A CEO is the lightning rod that attracts the ire regardless of the product or services sold." That killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson occurred amid an increase in threats to people in the heath-care industry. Thompson's company, a division of UnitedHealth Group , is the largest payer of health insurance benefits in the United States. Police believe the gunman who fatally shot the 50-year-old Thompson on Wednesday morning outside a midtown Manhattan hotel targeted him for some unknown reason as Thompson walked to a UnitedHealth Group investors meeting unaccompanied by any security.

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Persons: Matthew Dumpert, Brian Thompson, Thompson Organizations: Kroll Enterprise Security Risk Management, UnitedHealth, Police Locations: New York, United States, midtown Manhattan