Nick Clegg, the former UK politician turned Facebook executive, has been promoted. Clegg is now the President of Global Affair at Meta, a position that reports directly to Mark Zuckerberg.
Clegg was already seeing much of Meta’s policy positions as VP of Global Affairs and Communication, a position that reported to COO Sheryl Sandberg. But the new title underscores how much Zuckerberg has relied on the former Deputy Prime Minister as Facebook deals with numerous scandals, investigations and the prospect of increased government regulation.
He first joined Facebook in 2018, after his political career abruptly imploded. Facebook officials had hoped he could help the company improve its tarnished reputation following Cambridge Analytica, and guide its interactions with lawmakers and government officials.
Since then, Clegg has played a significant role in some of Facebook’s most controversial decisions in recent years, including its handling of Donald Trump’s suspension. Clegg was also the chief spokesperson for the company’s much-maligned decision to exempt politicians from fact checking. Elevating Clegg now could also help shield Zuckerberg and Sandberg from future controversies as he becomes the face of Meta’s policies. The former politician will also likely continue to represent the company at hearings and other interactions with government officials.
“Nick will now lead our company on all our policy matters, including how we interact with governments as they consider adopting new policies and regulations, as well as how we make the case publicly for our products and our work,” Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook. “As Nick takes on this new leadership role, it will enable me to focus more of my energy on leading the company as we build new products for the future, and it will support Sheryl as she continues to focus on the success of our business.”
The new role comes amid some bigger changes at the company now known as Meta. Besides an impending pivot from social networking to the metaverse, the company also just rebranded its News Feed to “Feed” and informed employees they will now be known as “Metamates.”
In a comment on Zuckerberg’s Facebook post, Clegg wrote that the company is at “an important inflection point.” “Our existing, and future, products will continue to be a subject of intense societal interest and debate. I am hugely looking forward to playing a role in that debate on our behalf, and ensuring that we have the right policies to both reflect our responsibilities and to support the building of innovative new products for years to come!”
