More corporate boards are tightening executive security and travel rules, as companies cite heightened threat concerns and point to a string of high-profile attacks and alleged kidnappings.
Security advisers say they are changing the ways CEOs and directors weigh risk.
In a recent proxy statement, Starbucks said an independent security study led the board’s independent directors to require CEO Brian Niccol to use company aircraft for all air travel, including personal travel, and to replace a prior cap on certain personal-flight costs with quarterly reviews.
They cited “significant heightened security concerns” and “the existence of credible threat actors.”
The Walt Disney Co. has also required CEO Bob Iger to use company aircraft for business and personal travel, saying in a January filing that a third-party security consultant found “bona fide, business-related security concerns” for Iger.
Tyson Foods said it engaged an independent security consultancy during its last fiscal year “based on the evolving security environment for corporate executives,” and updated policies requiring certain executives to use company-provided aircraft for all business and personal air travel.
Business Insider tied the shift to attacks that have rattled assumptions about corporate leaders’ safety, including the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk on Dec. 4, 2024.
It also pointed to a July 28, 2025, mass shooting at 345 Park Avenue in Manhattan, a building that houses the NFL’s headquarters and other offices, where a gunman killed four people and then died by suicide, according to officials.
Security executive Dale Buckner, head of Global Guardian, told Business Insider that boards are increasingly stepping in, sometimes overruling reluctant executives. “The risk is everywhere,” Buckner said.
“The board is overruling the CEO, who is going, ‘I don’t need this,’” he said.
Separate reviews have also documented broader increases in disclosed spending after Thompson’s killing.
Business Insider referenced an uncited AlphaSense analysis that it said found proxy filings by large U.S. public companies mentioning “executive security” or “corporate security” rose from 69 in 2023 to 87 in 2025.
In an analysis of proxy filings, Reuters reported that companies increased executive security spending and that data provider Equilar found 31.3% of S&P 500 companies provided security perks in 2024, with median costs rising to $94,276.
A recent incident involving Nancy Guthrie, mother of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie, has heightened concerns among prominent leaders, as authorities suspect she was kidnapped near Tucson, Arizona, and the FBI is currently investigating the case.
The Sept. 10, 2025, killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is one of the incidents security advisers cite when they argue that high-profile leaders should assume a higher baseline of threat, especially around public appearances, open events, and travel.
Kirk was shot during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, and the shooter fired from a rooftop, prompting a large, multiagency investigation.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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