Cracker Barrel CEO gets indefinite security after logo backlash

Why boards are taking executive safety more seriously

Post-employment security arrangements without a fixed end date remain uncommon. One precedent is Starbucks, which agreed to provide security for Howard Schultz for up to ten years following his 2023 departure as chief executive.

But the broader shift in executive protection has been unmistakable since the December 2024 killing of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealth Group’s insurance arm, who was shot outside a Manhattan hotel. The incident prompted companies across the country to scrutinize whether their leaders were adequately protected.

According to a May 2026 study published by the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, the share of companies providing personal security perquisites to their chief executives rose to 44.4% in 2025, up steadily over the prior three years. Importantly, no company in the sample eliminated executive security benefits during that period.

The spending figures tell a similar story. An April 2026 analysis by Equilar, an executive compensation research firm, found that over a third of S&P 500 companies provided security perquisites to at least some executives in 2025, a 12.8% increase from the year before. Among those companies, the median value of security spending reached $130,468, a 20% rise year-over-year and a roughly 136% increase from 2021 levels.

A September 2025 survey of corporate security professionals, cited in Security magazine’s April 2026 analysis of the rising tide of executive protection, found that 42% reported a significant increase in threats of violence against executives over the prior two years, with 97% of global investors viewing executive protection as crucial to preserving company value.