By Bill Peeler, President and CEO, Peeler Group International

In recent years, the healthcare sector has become one of the most visible and volatile environments for executive leadership. At least from a security standpoint, what was once a relatively low-profile industry has transformed into a lightning rod for public frustration, political debate, and sometimes personalized threats. For executives navigating this landscape, protection is no longer a luxury but a necessity.

As someone who has worked globally to protect people under intense scrutiny—from corporate leaders to high-profile individuals—I can confidently say that healthcare executives now face some of the most complex threat environments we’ve seen. The stakes are higher, the visibility is sharper, and the tolerance for mistakes is gone.

So, what does executive protection look like in healthcare? It starts with a clear understanding: this isn’t just about a driver and a bodyguard. It’s about a system of readiness.

Individualized Risk Intelligence

No two executives carry the same threat profile. Their exposure is shaped by their decisions on care access, policy enforcement, mergers, layoffs, and sometimes, life-or-death coverage determinations. The first necessity is a protective intelligence framework that maps known and emerging risks in real time. This must include digital monitoring, sentiment analysis, and boots-on-the-ground collection to catch threats before they form.

The tragic murder of the UnitedHealthcare executive in 2024 underscored a critical truth: an executive does not need to be the highest-paid, nor the most visible nationally, to become a symbolic target. In that case, the individual was perceived—rightly or wrongly—as the face of denied care. The assailant’s motive wasn’t tied to personal knowledge of corporate structure or pay scales; it was emotionally driven by grievance and perceived injustice. This highlights the danger of relying on generic threat matrices. Executive protection must be deeply personalized, factoring in public visibility, corporate rank, and emotional narratives that may assign blame based on policy outcomes.

Advance Work That Goes Beyond the Hotel Lobby

In healthcare, many engagements happen in unpredictable environments—clinics, union meetings, offsite events, even legislative hearings. Advance work must be exhaustive. That means more than walking the venue. It means confirming safe egress routes, medical facility proximity, private exits, on-call transportation, and discreet liaison with local responders, because if something goes wrong, you won’t have time to improvise.

Close Protection Without the Parade

Healthcare executives aren’t exactly chasing the spotlight, but they command the room when it matters, whether at board meetings, stakeholder summits, or industry conferences. That said, they’re not looking for an entourage. Effective protection in this space is deliberately low-profile, seamlessly integrated into the rhythm of their day. It should be professional, discreet, and calibrated to support—not distract from—the leader’s presence and purpose.

Secure Mobility, Not Just Secure Transport

A vehicle is more than just a ride; it’s a controlled space. Every route, driver, backup plan, and alternate pickup point should be pre-planned and rehearsed. Even virtual meetings carry mobility concerns—what’s in the background, who can walk in, and what information remains unsecured? We must redefine mobility to include every access point, whether physical or digital.

Emergency Response and Medical Integration

This is often overlooked. If a CEO suffers a medical event while under threat or stress, do you have a plan? Does the detail carry trauma kits? Are they trained in rapid evacuation and CPR? In a healthcare setting, irony is painful: failing to provide immediate care to your leadership in a moment of crisis can undermine everything the organization stands for.

Executive Lifestyle Security

You can’t separate the professional from the personal. In healthcare, online harassment of executives has led to threats at home, the doxxing of family members, and social targeting of children. Home security assessments, family awareness training, and monitored online exposure are no longer optional—they’re core elements of a responsible protection program.

Policy-Level Integration

Protection fails when it operates in a silo. The best healthcare systems treat security as part of executive operations, not a bolt-on service. That means integration with communications teams, HR, legal counsel, and IT security. It also means the protection team needs a seat at the table when sensitive decisions are made, because they’ll live with the fallout.

At Peeler Group International, we don’t just protect people—we safeguard purpose. And in healthcare, that purpose is deeply human. We owe it to these leaders, who often make impossible decisions under extreme scrutiny, to ensure they are protected not just in body but also in their ability to lead.

In a time when polarization can lead to violence and digital threats escalate to physical ones, executive protection is no longer reactive. It must be preemptive, strategic, ethical, and invisible until needed.

Because the cost of getting it wrong is no longer theoretical.