The abrupt firing of Wounded Warrior Project's top two business leaders Thursday came without any apologies for the embattled charity's past financial moves, but with an acknowledgement that changes were needed to "restore trust in the organization."
WWP's Board of Directors confirmed late Thursday evening that it had fired CEO Steve Nardizzi and COO Al Giordano after an independent review of organization operations.
The charity has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks over how it has managed more than $800 million raised in donations in recent years.
Former employees have alleged more money is being used for lavish conferences and employee perks than for veterans outreach and assistance. Other groups have criticized WWP's ratio of expenses to charitable work.
Board members dismissed those accusations in their Thursday statement, calling recent media reports "inaccurate" and saying independent auditors found more than 80 percent of donations to WWP go to programming.
"The organization's commitment to injured service members, their caregivers and family members remains steadfast," the statement said. "From 2010 to 2015, participation across WWP's many programs increased from approximately 1,850 wounded warriors to more than 144,000."
Still, the group acknowledged that the internal review did uncover some problems, saying that "some policies, procedures and controls at WWP have not kept pace with the organization's rapid growth in recent years and are in need of strengthening."
That includes promises that employee travel will include economy class plane tickets — officials insist less than 1 percent of their air travel was first-class and closer oversight of director expenses.
Board members did not respond to requests for specifics on the firings, and said in their release only that they "determined the organization would benefit from new leadership" before dismissing Nardizzi and Giordano.
The statement offers no apologies for past actions but does thank the "dedicated employees, donors, sponsors and partners who have stood loyally by this organization over the last six weeks."
Earlier this month, WWP officials testified about group operations and policy before the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs committees, noting that all its programs are free because "we believe the injured veterans we serve paid their dues on the battlefield."
The charity claims 85,000 wounded veterans as members, along with 16,000 veteran caregivers.
Leo Shane III covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He can be reached at lshane@militarytimes.com.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
