Meta has promoted Nick Clegg — its former global affairs vice president and one-time deputy prime minister of Great Britain — to a new executive role that places him at the top of the corporate structure.
Clegg, who joined Facebook in 2018, has been named to the new position of president of global affairs. In that role, he’ll oversee all policy matters, CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg said on his personal Facebook page. The move also puts Clegg “at the level” of Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg.
“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 said.
He added the promotion “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.”
Clegg’s duties will include determining how Meta interacts with governments as they consider new policies and regulations, and how the company can “make the case publicly for our products and our work,” Zuckerberg added.
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Since joining Meta, he’s managed “some of the most complex issues our company faces,” the CEO said, including elections, content policy and the creation of the company oversight board.
He also defended the company last year in the wake of revelations that Meta — then still called Facebook — knew about issues like harm to teenage mental health caused by Instagram posts, and misinformation surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Clegg said in response that issues such as political polarization are complex, not coming down to technology alone.
“I think it gives people false comfort to assume that there must be a technological or a technical explanation for the issues of political polarization in the United States,” he told CNN.
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