The murder of a healthcare senior executive in midtown Manhattan in December 2024 prompted many companies to re-evaluate the measures in place to secure the physical safety of their executives. [1] More recently, a mass shooting occurred in an office tower in Manhattan, calling further attention to the enhanced need for executive security. While many companies that are household names, especially in the technology and media sectors, have for years reported large security benefits for their founders and corporate leaders, many more companies are accepting the reality of the need for security for their key executives and considering how to integrate security into their executive compensation frameworks.

This article examines current executive perquisite disclosure trends and the influence of proxy advisory firms with a focus on executive security and makes predictions on related trends in the 2026 proxy season. We anticipate many companies this year have provided executive security for the first time or have enhanced existing levels of security, which will trigger additional perquisites disclosure under the current disclosure rules. The executive compensation disclosure rules are presently under review by the SEC and these rules are among the requirements that are likely to be subject to disclosure reforms.

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