Why Boards Must Prioritize CEO Protection in 2026

In boardrooms across the country. Protecting the CEO, once seen as a niche operational issue or even a luxury perk, is undergoing a subtle but profound shift that is fast becoming a strategic imperative. The world of 2025 has made top executives more visible and more vulnerable than ever. High-profile incidents in recent years, ranging from data breaches to the unprecedented assassination of a CEO, have sent shockwaves through corporate governance circles. Forward-thinking boards are beginning to ask: Are we doing enough to safeguard our leadership and, by extension, our company’s future?

This thought piece explores why converged executive protection (integrating physical security, cybersecurity, and intelligence) should now be on every board’s agenda. We’ll examine how CEO risk has evolved since 2020, the consequences of ignoring these risks, the rise of converged security as the new standard, and how boards can lead with foresight rather than mere compliance.

 

Today’s CEOs are more exposed publicly than at any time in history. The push for authentic leadership and social engagement means that many chief executives maintain active LinkedIn and media presences, participate in virtual events, and have personal lives that are easily accessible through a Google search. Every Tweet, tagged photo, or conference appearance creates digital breadcrumbs that bad actors can exploit. Even seemingly innocuous data – a geotagged post or a mention in a public itinerary can reveal an executive’s location or routine. In one striking example, a college student’s flight-tracking hobby evolved into a widely followed feed broadcasting a tech CEO’s private jet travels in real-time, illustrating how easily an executive’s movements can be monitored by strangers.

 

Since 2020, social and political currents have grown more turbulent. We live in an age of grievance culture and algorithm-fueled outrage. Corporate leaders are increasingly finding themselves symbolizing broader issues – lightning rods for debates on inequality, public health, climate change, and other pressing concerns. Whether or not a CEO seeks the spotlight, they may become a target for activist groups, disgruntled individuals, or even the frustrations of their own employees. A controversial decision (mass layoffs, a political stance, an environmental policy) can trigger protests at the office gates or harassing posts online directed personally at the CEO. In short, being a well-known leader in 2025 often means being a potential target for someone’s anger or agenda.

 

The line between public and private life has virtually disappeared for executives. The ubiquity of smartphones, drones, and online tracking tools means a CEO’s off-duty moments can be recorded and publicized without consent. Modern surveillance isn’t just government cameras – it’s anyone with a phone or an internet connection. The home addresses of many CEOs can be found in public databases; details about their families, hobbies, and habits often surface on social media or data broker sites. This pervasive visibility raises the risk of stalking, home intrusion, or other physical threats by those who might seek to harm or influence a company by targeting its leader.

 

By late 2024, the abstract threats became shockingly real. In December, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside a hotel on the way to an investor meeting. This tragic assassination – virtually unheard of in modern U.S. corporate history – sent a chill through boardrooms nationwide. “Everyone’s scrambling to say, ‘Are we safe?’ This is an inflection point where the idea of executive protection is now raised to the board level,” one security executive told CNBC in the days after the attack. The incident underscored that in today’s world of instant information and high-profile attacks, companies must take seriously their duty of care for executives and employees alike.

 

Even before that wake-up call, many companies had quietly begun bolstering CEO protections in response to evolving threats. The numbers tell the story. In 2024, nearly two in five (37%) S&P 500 companies disclosed that they provided enhanced security for their chief executive, up from 28% the previous year. That figure has more than doubled from a decade ago. Spending is following suit: one analysis found median security expenditures on CEOs almost doubled from 2020 to 2024.

This includes investments in home alarm systems, personal security teams, secure transportation, and cybersecurity tools for executives, as well as online resources. Some firms are going even further; for example, in the wake of Thompson’s murder, UnitedHealth Group reportedly spent nearly $1.7 million on executive security in 2024, much of it in the final weeks of the year. The message is clear – visibility now equals risk, and prudent companies are responding by fortifying the security of their top leaders.

 

 

What happens if a board underestimates these risks? The absence of robust executive protection can carry grave consequences – not only for the individual at risk, but for the company’s legal standing, reputation, and financial performance.

 

At the extreme, a successful attack on a CEO is every company’s worst nightmare. Beyond the human tragedy, it creates a leadership vacuum and exposes the board to intense scrutiny. Directors have a fiduciary duty of care to safeguard corporate assets – and a CEO is arguably the most critical “asset” of all. If it emerges that warning signs were missed or that reasonable precautions weren’t taken, shareholders and regulators could question whether the board failed in its oversight responsibilities.

In some cases, negligence in executive safety might even open the door to lawsuits or regulatory actions. No board member wants to be in front of shareholders explaining why more wasn’t done after a crisis that might have been preventable.

 

Even non-physical security failures – such as a CEO’s confidential emails being hacked or an impersonator posting disinformation under their name – can escalate into public crises. PR disasters stemming from security lapses tend to dominate headlines: imagine the CEO of a Fortune 500 company having private family details or inappropriate comments leaked because their personal accounts lacked proper safeguards.

Such incidents erode stakeholder trust not just in the CEO, but in the company’s overall governance. Moreover, an insecure CEO can quickly become a distracted CEO; leaders bogged down by security concerns or recovery from an incident cannot effectively focus on strategic duties. An effective protection program, by contrast, “provides safety and allows the executive to maintain focus on their responsibilities”– a benefit boards should not overlook.

 

Perhaps most convincing to boards and investors is the bottom-line argument. Ignoring CEO protection is not a “cost saver” – it’s a value risk. A recent global security report found that nearly half of large companies have seen increased threats of violence against executives in the past two years. In the same study, 97% of institutional investors said it’s important for companies to allocate resources to executive security. These investors understand what’s at stake: they estimate that a serious security incident involving senior leadership could wipe out as much as 30% of a company’s market value.

In fact, one in four security chiefs surveyed reported actual revenue losses in the last year due to physical security events, with an average hit of $9 million per company. Such blows – whether from a disrupted business deal, loss of a key person, or prolonged negative publicity – directly affect shareholder value. The fiduciary case is clear: protecting the CEO is protecting the company’s financial health and the interests of its investors.

 

If traditional “bodyguard-only” executive protection was the model of the past, converged security is the model of the future (and increasingly, the present). Converged executive protection involves integrating physical security, cybersecurity, and threat intelligence into a single, cohesive strategy. In plain terms: today’s CEO needs a 360° shield. Here’s why this approach is now considered best practice:

 

The threats facing executives no longer fit neatly into either “physical” or “digital” buckets – they bleed across domains. For example, a seemingly trivial phishing email could leak a CEO’s upcoming travel plans, putting them at risk during a trip. Likewise, an angry activist’s Twitter rant might precede a real-world confrontation. If corporate security teams operate in silos (physical security separate from IT security, separate from intelligence), it’s easy to miss the early warning signs of an attack. Leading organizations understand this. In one survey, 96% of security leaders agreed that unless cyber and physical security work in tandem, critical threats will be missed. Convergence closes the gaps – ensuring that whether a threat originates on a social network, via a breached database, or at the front gate, it triggers a coordinated protective response.

 

Modern executive protection is as much about data and foresight as it is about guards and gates. Protective intelligence teams now routinely monitor online chatter, dark web forums, and global news to detect risks to their principals. They conduct pre-event intelligence sweeps before major public appearances, analyze social media patterns for signs of escalating anger, and flag any misinformation campaigns targeting the CEO or the company. As security experts often say, threats today tend to surface online before they manifest in person. By fusing cyber intelligence with on-the-ground security, companies can detect these signals and neutralize issues early – for instance, rerouting a CEO’s travel plans if a protest is brewing, or quietly increasing home security if personal information is doxed.

 

Converged programs combine the best of physical security (trained protective agents, secure drivers, access control systems, and hardened facilities) with robust digital safeguards (secure communication channels, encrypted devices, and personal cybersecurity for the executive and their family).

Imagine a CEO’s daily routine in 2025: her access badge systems at the office are tied into an alert system that also watches for suspicious mentions of her name online; her home is equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance that her security team can monitor remotely; her personal phone and email undergo regular cybersecurity checkups to prevent hacking.

Even the CEO’s family might receive security training and digital privacy protection – because attackers will often look for the weakest link, and that’s frequently an unprotected home network or a family member’s social media account. This comprehensive, “whole-person” security approach is far more effective than any single layer on its own.

 

A concern for many executives (and boards) is how to protect a high-profile leader without turning them into a fortress-encased figure isolated from their work. The good news is that converged security, done right, is largely invisible in day-to-day life. The CEO still travels to meetings and interacts with employees – but behind the scenes, a centralized security operation is coordinating details to ensure their safety. For instance, advance teams quietly sweep venues for bugs or vulnerabilities, routes are planned with alternate options, and a security driver remains on standby.

Online, the CEO’s public profiles might be monitored for fraud or impersonation attempts without interfering with their genuine engagement. The goal is seamless protection that protects the leader without creating a bubble around them. As one industry expert put it, executive protection must “protect without restricting,” allowing leaders to remain accessible and effective. When boards hear “comprehensive security,” it doesn’t mean their CEO will be trudging through the office trailed by a phalanx of guards; it means no critical threat is going unnoticed or unaddressed across the physical and digital spectrum.

In short, converged executive protection is about anticipation and integration. It recognizes that a CEO’s security is not just a bodyguard’s job or an IT problem – it’s a unified effort to proactively defend the individual and the enterprise’s continuity, reputation, and stakeholders.

 

Corporate boards today find themselves at a crossroads on this issue. One path is the traditional, minimalist approach – treating executive security as a check-the-box matter (“We have a policy and a budget line; we disclose the CEO’s security perk in the proxy. Done.”). The other path is a proactive, foresight-driven approach – recognizing executive protection as a vital component of enterprise risk management and competitive resilience.

Here’s why enlightened boards are choosing the latter:

 

Thus far, many companies have only reacted to incidents – implementing stronger CEO protections after a scare or tragedy has occurred. Boards now have the chance to lead with foresight instead. This involves discussing potential threats to leadership continuity during regular risk reviews, even if no incidents have occurred. It means asking management the tough “What if” questions: What if our CEO were targeted tomorrow – are we prepared? Where are we exposed? Some governance experts even recommend scenario planning or war-gaming these events to reveal blind spots and knock-on effects. By elevating these discussions before a crisis, boards signal a commitment to preventive governance. It’s much like the shift over the past decade with cybersecurity – once an IT issue, now a boardroom priority. Executive security is following that same trajectory in 2025.

 

Embracing robust CEO protection is fundamentally about fulfilling the board’s duty of care in a modern context. As one security executive observed, at some point, increased investment in executive safety actually redefines what “reasonable and prudent” companies must do. In other words, what was optional yesterday may be expected tomorrow. Boards that get ahead of this curve will not only avoid being caught flat-footed, but they’ll also foster a culture that values safety at all levels. When the board champions security for the top executive, it sets a tone that everyone’s well-being is a priority – from the C-suite to the front lines. That can boost morale and trust internally. Externally, it reassures investors and partners that the company takes risk management seriously. In an era when seven in ten investors say a company’s leadership represents at least 30% of its value, protecting that leadership is part of protecting shareholder value.

 

Regulatory compliance plays a crucial role – for instance, the SEC now mandates the disclosure of certain executive security perks, and companies want to avoid the optics of “excessive” expenses. But mere compliance should be the floor, not the ceiling. Boards have the opportunity to transform executive protection from a begrudging cost into a strategic asset for resilience. A well-thought-out security program can actually enable a CEO to take smart risks (like making bold public appearances or engaging online) that drive the business, because the safeguards are in place. It’s analogous to how strong cybersecurity enables digital innovation. Likewise, comprehensive executive security enables leadership agility. Instead of living in fear of a threat, the company can proceed with confidence, having mitigated that category of risk. For the board, this proactive stance translates to fewer emergency meetings and negative surprises, and more focus on advancing the company’s long-term goals.

 

Finally, consider the broader stakeholder landscape. Employees, customers, and communities look to the CEO as the figurehead of the company. A high-profile security incident involving that leader can deeply shake stakeholder confidence. Conversely, a CEO who is well-protected (yet still engaging openly) embodies stability. Boards that ensure their leaders are safe are ultimately protecting the stakeholders’ interests too – be it the jobs tied to the CEO’s decisions, the investors’ capital, or the community relying on the company’s continuity. It’s a chance for boards to exercise enlightened stewardship: taking action not because someone is forcing their hand, but because it’s the right and smart thing to do.

 

The world of 2025 has made one thing plain: CEO protection is no longer just about the personal safety of one individual – it’s about the integrity and resilience of the entire enterprise. Boards in California, New York, Florida, and beyond are coming to terms with this reality. By approaching executive protection as a strategic investment (rather than a reluctant expense), boards can avoid reactive scramble, steer clear of avoidable crises, and even gain a competitive edge through stability and trust.

In practice, prioritizing CEO protection involves asking new questions at the board level, supporting management in implementing converged security measures, and staying informed about the evolving risk landscape. It’s an area where a small amount of foresight can prevent a catastrophe, where dollars spent on preparedness can save millions in crisis fallout, and where doing the right thing by your people aligns perfectly with doing the right thing for your shareholders.

Ultimately, the goal isn’t to wrap the CEO in bubble wrap or stoke fear – it’s to enable bold leadership with peace of mind. A CEO free from security anxieties is a CEO free to innovate, inspire, and drive value. And a board that ensures this protection is not just guarding a person; it’s safeguarding the company’s future.

If you’re a board member or senior leader unsure about your organization’s current security posture, it may be worthwhile to book a confidential, zero-obligation security strategy call with a trusted executive protection advisor. This is not about alarmism – it’s about due diligence. Such a conversation can help assess your current protections, identify gaps, and outline a roadmap so that you can confidently say you’re doing everything reasonable to protect your people and your business. Ultimately, that confidence is what high-trust leadership is all about.