Meta‘s president of worldwide coverage, former U.Ok. deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, is leaving the social big. Taking his place: Joel Kaplan, a Meta lobbying exec with ties to the Republican get together.
Clegg is stepping down from the position — after greater than six years — simply weeks earlier than Donald Trump is ready to be sworn in as U.S. president. “As a brand new yr begins, I’ve come to the view that that is the precise time for me to maneuver on from my position as President, World Affairs at Meta,” Clegg wrote in a public Fb publish Thursday.
Kaplan joined Fb in 2011, and have become the corporate’s VP of worldwide public coverage in 2014. He has been seen as key to Meta’s efforts to succeed in out conservative lawmakers who’ve criticized the corporate for a perceived anticonservative bias. “Joel is kind of clearly the precise particular person for the precise job on the proper time — ideally positioned to form the corporate’s technique as societal and political expectations round expertise proceed to evolve,” Clegg wrote within the publish.
Kaplan was previously deputy chief of employees underneath President George W. Bush from 2006-09. Previous to that, he labored as a regulation clerk for former Supreme Court docket Justice Antonin Scalia after graduating from Harvard Regulation College. Earlier than becoming a member of Fb, Kaplan was EVP for public coverage and exterior affairs for Vitality Future Holdings Corp.
Trump has lashed out at Meta/Fb up to now on quite a few events — and likewise has attacked firm co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. On Nov. 27, Zuckerberg traveled to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida to dine with the president-elect. As well as, Meta is amongst firms donating $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.
Zuckerberg, in a reply Thursday on Clegg’s resignation publish, wrote, “I’m grateful for every thing you’ve performed for Meta and the world these previous seven years. I’ve realized a lot working with you and our complete staff is healthier for having this chance. You’ve made an vital influence advancing Meta’s voice and values all over the world, in addition to our imaginative and prescient for AI and the metaverse. You’ve additionally constructed a robust staff to hold this work ahead. I’m excited for Joel to step into this position subsequent given his deep expertise and perception main our coverage work for a few years.”
Clegg was head of the U.Ok.’s Liberal Democrats get together earlier than becoming a member of Meta (then Fb) within the fall of 2018. With the corporate’s speedy development “got here important scrutiny and controversy too – and I’m happy with the work I’ve been in a position to do main and supporting groups throughout the corporate to make sure continued innovation can go hand in hand with elevated transparency and accountability, and with new types of governance,” he wrote.
Kevin Martin, who served as FCC chairman and was appointed to the fee by President George W. Bush, will change Kaplan as VP of worldwide coverage. Martin joined Fb in 2018 and has been Meta’s VP of U.S. public coverage. “Together with his intensive expertise at Meta, and his earlier report of public service as Chairman of the FCC, I do know Kevin might be a robust chief of the coverage org and can proceed to be an amazing companion to Joel,” Clegg wrote.
Pictured above: Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg (left), Joel Kaplan