Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, announced he will step down from the role after seven years with the company.
Clegg on Thursday shared a message he sent to colleagues announcing the decision after joining the company in 2018 and serving as its representative in Washington and London.
“As a new year begins, I have come to the view that this is the right time for me to move on from my role as President, Global Affairs at Meta. It truly has been an adventure of a lifetime!”
Clegg, a former leader of the Liberal Democrats and former British deputy prime minister said he would spend a few months “handing over the reins” to Joel Kaplan, a Republican former staffer for President George W. Bush, who serves as Meta’s policy vice-president.
Former Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin will replace Kaplan as vice-president of global policy for Meta, Clegg added.
“Nick: I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for Meta and the world these past seven years. You’ve … built a strong team to carry this work forward. I’m excited for Joel to step into this role next given his deep experience and insight leading our policy work for many years,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement.
The move comes amid the incoming arrival of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
In an apparent smoothing of the relationship between the two sides, Meta donated
$1 million to the President-elect’s inauguration fund in December. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg also travelled to Mar-A-Lago for a meeting with Trump at the end of November.
Trump has accused Meta of censoring conservatives and his relationship with Zuckerberg has been strained.
Trump’s facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended for two years after the social media platforms said Trump had praised the violent pro-Trump rioters who attacked the capitol in a failed effort to block the peaceful transfer of presidential power on January 6, 2021. (UPI)
