Incoming CEO of Israeli NSO Group resigns amid Pegasus scandals
Isaac Benbenisti announced he was stepping aside "in light of the special circumstances" involving the Israeli spyware firm.
The incoming chief executive officer of NSO Group has quit a week after the Biden administration added the controversial Israeli spyware firm to its economic blacklist.
In a resignation letter to NSO's chairman Asher Levy quoted by Reuters, Isaac Benbenisti wrote that "in light of the special circumstances that have arisen," he "would not be able to assume the position of CEO." The news agency reports he is leaving the company altogether.
Benbenisti, an NSO co-president who previously served as CEO at telecoms group Partner Communications, was expected to assume his position as CEO in the coming weeks. He would have succeeded founder and current CEO Shalev Hulio, who was named to the role of vice chairman of the board and global president.
In an Oct. 31 press release announcing the staffing changes, Benbenisti touted NSO Group’s “high moral standards, ethical framework and compliance policies … and especially the willingness to continue improving at all fronts.”
