Meta Global Affairs Chief Nick Clegg Steps Down
(MENAFN- PRovoke)
LONDON - Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg, who has been with the social media giant for nearly seven years, has announced he is leaving the firm this year.
The former UK deputy prime Minister and Liberal Democrat party leader joined what was then facebook as vice‐president for global affairs and communications in 2018. The firm was then facing the Cambridge Analytica scandal and its role in the 2016 US presidential election. He was promoted to the global affairs role at Meta – the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp – in 2022.
In a post on various Meta platforms, Clegg (pictured, left) outlined how the company had changed over the past six years, from establishing itself as“one of the greatest global communication platforms ever invented – empowering billions of people to connect with each other and express themselves like never before” to being“a leader not just in social media, but in AI and augmented and virtual reality too.”
Clegg said his time at the company had coincided with a“significant resetting of the relationship between 'big tech' and the societal pressures manifested in new laws, institutions and norms affecting the sector” and that he hoped“I have played some role in seeking to bridge the very different worlds of tech and politics – worlds that will continue to interact in unpredictable ways across the globe.”
He added he would be spending a few months handing over the reins and representing Meta at international gatherings in Q1 of this year, before moving on“to new adventures with immense gratitude and pride at what I have been so fortunate to be part of.”
Vice president of global policy Joel Kaplan (pictured, right), who has been with Meta since 2011, succeeds Clegg as chief global affairs officer, while US public policy lead Kevin Martin will be stepping into Kaplan's shoes as VP global policy.
Clegg described Kaplan as having“skill and integrity,” adding:“He will be able to build on what we have done together, and improve upon what I failed to get done... Joel is quite clearly the right person for the right job at the right time - ideally placed to shape the company's strategy as societal and political expectations around technology continue to evolve.”
Meta's VP of global communications and public affairs since 2022, David Ginsburg – a member of PRovoke Media's Influence 100 list – was also mentioned in the announcement, with Clegg saying Ginsburg's strong relationship with Kaplan“will ensure that the teamwork I have sought to foster across Global Affairs will continue to flourish.”
The move comes just weeks before the start of a second US presidential term for Donald Trump, who in March 2024 declared that Facebook was“an enemy of the people” and later threatened“election fraudsters” – referencing Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Days after Trump was elected,
Meta donated $1m to Trump's inauguration fund
and Zuckerberg spent time with him at Mar-a-Lago.
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