Prince quits as CEO of Blackwater-turned-Xe

[unhappycamper]

Prince quits as CEO of Blackwater-turned-Xe
By Antonie Boessenkool - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Mar 2, 2009 17:37:51 EST

Erik Prince announced Monday that he is stepping down as chief executive of the security company previously called Blackwater Worldwide and will name a new president and chief operating officer.

Prince, a former Navy SEAL, founded the private Moyock, N.C., company in 1997. Blackwater changed its name to Xe last month as part of an ongoing rebranding and restructuring effort.

Prince, who will remain as the company’s chairman, intends to focus on a private equity venture unrelated to Xe, according to spokeswoman Anne Tyrell. He will not be involved in day-to-day operations at the security firm, she said.

With Prince’s departure, the chief executive position will be open, according to Tyrell.

Blackwater was a major contractor of security services for State Department personnel in Iraq before the Iraqi government barred the company from working in the country. That action by the Iraq government was spurred by an incident involving Blackwater employees working as State Department security guards during a 2007 shooting in Nisour Square in Baghdad that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/03/defense_princeresigns_030209/%2e