Dec 4 (Reuters) - Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s (UNH.N) , opens new tab insurance unit, was fatally shot on Wednesday morning outside a midtown Manhattan hotel in what appears to have been a targeted attack, New York City police officials said.

The shooting occurred around 6:40 a.m. ET (1140 GMT) outside the Hilton on Sixth Avenue, just before a scheduled company investor conference at that hotel. Thompson was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.