(Bloomberg) -- Brian Thompson, a longtime UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive, was fatally shot in midtown Manhattan early Wednesday morning ahead of the company’s investor day. The suspect remains at large.
Authorities described the shooting as a targeted attack, which ignited a manhunt across the city for the gunman and spurred tributes across Wall Street and the health-care industry.
“When I think about the last 18 months and the turbulence that has surrounded the world in general and the health insurance sector in particular, maybe the one most important and positive constant that helps keep us all moving forward are the people,” Justin Lake, a Wolfe Research health-care analyst, wrote in a note to clients.
“BT has been a friend and colleague for nearly 20 years and over that time I watched as he climbed the ranks at UNH while earning the respect and admiration of everyone that occupied his orbit, from fellow healthcare executives that worked with and competed against him to investors and industry analysts,” he said.
Lake didn’t respond to requests for comment. Here are some highlights from the note:
On relationships in business: “Most of us sit in jobs where we are fortunate to work with intelligent and thoughtful colleagues on a daily basis, but the relationships we all value and treasure most are with those where the business or investing acumen is combined with character, integrity, kindness and good humor. These are the people you feel fortunate to simply interact with much less count as a friend and while I can say my little corner of HC Services certainly has a long list of these types, Brian sat at or near the top for everyone that knew him.”
On Wall Street access: “The point of this note is simply to ensure that Brian’s family, friends and colleagues know that there are literally thousands of people in positions like mine that you may not have interacted with or even heard about but that Brian had an incredibly positive and profound impact on. Whether that was by simply, patiently and intelligently answering questions on why medical cost trends were so stubbornly high with his typical good humor or for someone like myself who, while only seeing or talking to Brian a few times a year, knew that when I reached out to him for help or advice on a matter that was personally important would get an almost immediate response of “how can I help fella!” despite the responsibilities that come with being a husband, father and the CEO of UHC.”
On the loss of Thompson: “I can literally say that not only myself but my family is better off for having known Brian Thompson and I know from the outpouring of emotion and profound loss today from colleagues across the Wall Street and healthcare communities that there are many, many more who feel exactly the same way.”
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