Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook, announced a significant leadership change on Thursday, naming Joel Kaplan, a veteran Republican operative, as its new chief global affairs officer, replacing Nick Clegg, the former British deputy prime minister who has been a key architect of the company’s political strategy since 2018.
The transition comes at a pivotal moment for Meta, as it prepares for President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House and signals Silicon Valley’s broader recalibration toward the incoming Republican administration. Kaplan, who served as White House deputy chief of staff under President George W. Bush, has maintained strong ties to conservative circles and recently appeared at the New York Stock Exchange alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance and Trump, according to reports.
“I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for Meta and the world these past seven years,” Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, said in a statement praising Clegg’s tenure while expressing enthusiasm for Kaplan’s elevation.
Clegg, who announced his departure in a staff memo posted on Facebook, characterized his exit as a natural transition point. During his tenure, he guided Meta through several storms, including the Cambridge Analytica scandal and intensifying global debates over social media’s role in elections and content moderation.
“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.
The company also announced that Kevin Martin, a former Federal Communications Commission chairman, would assume Kaplan’s previous role as vice president of global policy.
The leadership reorganization reflects the broader challenges facing technology companies as they navigate an increasingly complex political environment and mounting regulatory pressures worldwide. Kaplan will work closely with David Ginsburg, Meta’s vice president of global communications and public affairs, to shape the company’s response to these challenges.