“Since United States military operations in Iraq began in 2003, I have visited Iraq at least 15 times. But unlike politicians who visit, the question for me has never been why the U.S. got into Iraq. Instead, as the CEO of Blackwater, the urgent question was how the company I head could perform the duties asked of us by the U.S. State Department.”

American businessman

Erik Prince is an American businessman, born in 1969, best known as the founder of the private military contractor Blackwater. He led the company as chief executive until 2009 and remained chairman until its sale in 2010. He later founded the private equity firm Frontier Resource Group in 2012 and served as chairman of Frontier Services Group, a Hong Kong-listed company, until 2021. He is the son of engineer and businessman Edgar Prince and the brother of former U.S. secretary of education Betsy DeVos.