Wounded Warrior board ousts top two executives

The group’s chief executive, Steven Nardizzi, and its chief operating officer, Al Giordano, were fired by the nonprofit organization’s board of directors, according to a news release from Abernathy MacGregor, a crisis-management public-relations firm hired by the charity.

[...] the leadership came under fire after former employees said the charity spent recklessly and became overly focused on fundraising at the expense of veterans’ programs.

In reports by CBS News and the New York Times in January, current and former employees detailed the organization’s spending millions on employee retreats and first-class airfare while building programs for veterans that were useful for marketing but did little to serve veterans’ needs.

The review confirmed many of the findings by the Times and CBS, according to a news release from the public relations firm, and the board has instituted changes to limit first-class travel, track changes and increase accountability.

“To best effectuate these changes and help restore trust in the organization among all of the constituencies WWP serves, the board determined the organization would benefit from new leadership, and WWP CEO Steve Nardizzi and COO Al Giordano are no longer with the organization,” the news release from Abernathy MacGregor said.