Blackwater founder steps down as CEO
Blackwater founder steps down as CEO
Washington: Blackwater founder Erik Prince is stepping down as the company’s chief executive officer.
Prince said in a statement on Monday that he has appointed a new president and a new CEO and that the moves were part of the beleaguered company’s “continued reorganization and self-improvement".
Prince founded Blackwater in 1997 and in February this year the company changed its name to Xe.
The company has had a contract to protect US diplomats in Iraq, but last month the State Department said it would not rehire Blackwater after its contract expires in May. The company has one other major security contract, details of which are classified.
A report by a House committee in October 2007 called Blackwater an out-of-control outfit indifferent to Iraqi civilian casualties involved in nearly 200 shooting incidents since 2005.
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