Meta replaces global affairs chief ahead of Trump’s inauguration

The father of Facebook Meta is replacing global affairs president Nick Clegg with Joel Kaplan, the campaign’s current vice president of policy and a former GOP staffer.

The shake-up comes three weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration and is the latest sign of how tech companies are positioning themselves for the new administration in Washington.

Clegg, Britain’s former deputy prime minister, said he was stepping down, calling the new year the right time to move on. He will be replaced by Kaplan, who will assume the title of Chief Global Affairs Officer.

Kaplan was a staffer for former President George W. Bush and appeared on the NYSE with J.D. Vance as vice president-elect and Trump in December. He also attended Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanagh’s hearing in 2018 as a personal friendcausing dispute for a social media campaign.

“I look forward to spending a few months handing over the reins — and representing the company at a number of international meetings in the first quarter of this year,” Clegg wrote in a memo to staff that he shared on Facebook on Thursday.

Clegg joined the company in 2018 after a career in British politics with the Lib Dems, and he has helped Meta weather incredible scrutiny, particularly over the campaign’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 has also represented the company in Washington and London, often on panels on artificial intelligence and in the congressional hearings.

“My time at the company has coincided with a significant reset of the relationship between ‘big tech’ and societal pressures, which is reflected in new laws, institutions and regulations affecting the sector,” Clegg wrote.

In his memo, Clegg said former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin will replace Kaplan as Meta’s vice president of global policy. He noted that Kaplan will 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 over the past seven years,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. You’ve built a strong team to continue this work. I am delighted that Joel is next to step into this role, given his depth of experience and insight that has guided our policy work for many years.”

The semaphore was the first to report news.

WATCH: Meta: That’s why Rosenblatt Securities has set a $811 price target on the stock