Facebook parent company Meta has appointed Joel Kaplan, a former Republican Party worker and the firm’s current policy vice president, to succeed Nick Clegg as president of global affairs.
TakeAway Points:
- Facebook parent Meta is reorganising its policy team three weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
- Nick Clegg, a former British deputy prime minister who has been the company’s global head of policy since 2018, is stepping down. He’ll be replaced by Joel Kaplan.
- Kaplan was a staffer under former President George W. Bush, and he appeared at the New York Stock Exchange with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and Trump in December.
Meta replaces policy chief with former Republican staffer
Joel Kaplan, a former Republican Party employee and the business’s current policy vice president, has been named by Facebook parent company Meta to take Nick Clegg’s place as president of global affairs.
The shake-up comes three weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, and it’s the latest sign of how tech companies are positioning themselves for a new administration in Washington.
Clegg, a former British deputy prime minister, said he is stepping down, citing the new year as the right time to move on. He’ll be replaced by Kaplan, who will take on the title of chief global affairs officer.
Kaplan was White House deputy chief of staff under former President George W. Bush, and he appeared at the New York Stock Exchange with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Trump in December. He also attended Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing in 2018 as a personal friend, causing a controversy for the social media company.
“I will look forward to spending a few months handing over the reins — and to representing the company at a number of international gatherings in Q1 of this year,” Clegg wrote in a memo to his staff that he shared on Facebook on Thursday.
Journey in Meta
Clegg joined the company in 2018 after a career in British politics with the Liberal Democrats party, and he helped Meta navigate incredible scrutiny, especially over the company’s influence on elections and its efforts to control harmful content.
Clegg also helped steer the company through the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which Facebook shared user data with third-party political consultants. He also represented the company in Washington and London, frequently at panels for artificial intelligence and at congressional hearings.
“My time at the company 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,” Clegg wrote.
In his note, Clegg said Kevin Martin, a former Federal Communications Commission chairman, would replace Kaplan as Meta’s vice president of global policy. He mentioned that Kaplan would work closely with David Ginsburg, the company’s vice president of global communications and public affairs.
“Nick: I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for Meta and the world these past seven years,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. “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.”
