Cracker Barrel will guard outgoing CEO Julie Masino long after she leaves, reflecting a surge in threats against American executives
Cracker Barrel is paying for its outgoing chief executive's personal security indefinitely after her departure, drawing fresh attention to a trend that has fundamentally reshaped how American companies think about protecting their leaders.
Julie Masino, who will step down as chief executive of the Tennessee-based restaurant chain on August 10, will receive personal protective services for a “reasonable period of time” after leaving, according to a transition agreement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company said the board will determine the extent of coverage and will reimburse Masino for any related tax liability. She will also receive $4.63 million in severance over the two years following the end of her employment.
The arrangement follows a bruising stretch for Masino. In August 2025, Cracker Barrel unveiled an updated logo that removed the “Old Timer,” the overall-clad figure that had defined its branding for decades. The redesign drew a swift and fierce public backlash, including a post from President Donald Trump. Cracker Barrel later reversed the change and announced that Masino would be replaced by David Deno, an industry veteran. Shares fell nearly 3% on the news. Masino told conservative commentator Glenn Beck in December 2025 that she felt she had been “fired by America.”
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.
The new reality for boards and people leaders
The implications for HR teams run deeper than compensation disclosures. As HRD America reported in June 2026, the backlash against executives associated with controversial decisions, from artificial intelligence-driven layoffs to branding changes, has pushed executive protection from a niche benefit into a core element of leadership risk management.
The Cracker Barrel case illustrates how quickly a corporate decision can translate into personal threat. Masino became one of the most visible targets of public anger over a brand decision, even as the controversy played out largely on social media. Earlier this year, OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman’s California home was attacked with an incendiary device. At WiseTech Global, a chief executive received written threats against his family following layoff announcements tied to artificial intelligence.
HR leaders are increasingly involved in designing and approving executive security programs, and the SEC’s disclosure threshold of $10,000 for executive perquisites means these decisions carry reputational weight with shareholders and the public.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) offers guidance on workplace violence prevention and risk protocols for HR teams, covering both employee-level protections and executive-specific risk scenarios. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) also provides regulatory guidance on employer obligations related to workplace violence, applicable across industries and seniority levels.
As workplace assaults across the U.S. economy have risen sharply in recent years, HR departments are already grappling with violence at the frontline level. The question boards and people leaders are increasingly being asked to answer is whether that same rigor extends to the executive suite.
The Cracker Barrel situation raises a practical question: does your organization have a formal process for assessing threats against senior leaders, and is that process documented, board-approved, and ready to scale?
