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Nick Clegg, the president of global affairs at Meta, is leaving the social media platform and will be replaced by Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican known for overseeing the company’s relationships with conservatives.
In a post on Meta’s Facebook on Thursday, Clegg, a former leader of the Liberal Democrats and deputy prime minister in the UK, said he was departing the company after seven years. He added that he would spend “a few months handing over the reins” and representing Facebook at international gatherings before moving on to “new adventures”.
Kaplan previously served as deputy chief of staff in the White House during the George W Bush administration, and is known for handling the company’s relations with Republicans.
In the past, Facebook has dismissed claims that certain figures including Kaplan wielded political influence on its decision-making processes and treatment of politicians.
The shake-up comes just weeks before Donald Trump — who has repeatedly accused Meta and other platforms of censorship and silencing conservative speech — is set to return to the White House.
Some Big Tech executives who previously had cool relations with the Republican leader have since taken steps to court the president-elect. Meta’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has dined with Trump at his Florida estate in Mar-a-Lago since the US election and congratulated him on his victory. Semafor first reported on the changes.
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