- Nick Clegg announces Meta departure in a Facebook post
- The news comes weeks ahead of President-elect Trump inauguration
- Clegg will assist with handover to former Republican Joel Kaplan for several months
Former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has confirmed he will be stepping down from his global affairs position at Meta after a six-year tenure.
“As a new year begins, I have come to the view that this is the right time for me to move on from my role as President, Global Affairs at Meta,” Clegg wrote in a Facebook post to his profile.
Clegg’s deputy Joel Kaplan has been confirmed as his successor, with Kevin Martin taking over Kaplan’s role as VP for Global Policy.
The news comes weeks before Trump takes office, with the President-elect a hostile opponent to Meta in the past.
Trump previously threatened Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg with imprisonment if he interfered with the election, and even called Meta an “enemy of the people” despite having ties to Elon Musk and his social networking platform, X.
In the Facebook post announcing his departure, Clegg described Zuckerberg as “one of the most consequential innovators and business leaders of our times.”
Clegg also highlighted a shift in the relationship between big tech and “the societal pressures manifested in new laws, institutions and norms” during his time with the company.
Prior to his role at Meta, Kaplan served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff under President George W Bush.
Clegg stated: “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.”
Clegg will continue to work with Meta for “a few months” in order to ensure a smooth transition.
Zuckerberg commented: “You’ve made an important impact advancing Meta’s voice and values around the world.”