Francois Mori/AP
- Facebook named Robert Kimmitt, a former deputy Treasury secretary and US ambassador to Germany, as its lead independent board director on Thursday.
- "We've been looking for a leader who can bring significant oversight and governance experience," Mark Zuckerberg said of Kimmitt's appointment.
- Another board member, Jeffrey Zients, will be stepping down at the company's next shareholder meeting.
- The moves are the latest in a series of significant shakeups on Facebook's board in recent months.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Facebook on Thursday named former Deputy Treasury Secretary and US Ambassador to Germany Robert Kimmitt as its lead independent board director.
"The lead independent director is an important role for us and we've been looking for a leader who can bring significant oversight and governance experience," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said of Kimmitt's appointment.
Another Facebook board member, Cranemere CEO Jeffrey Zients, will not be seeking re-election at the next annual shareholder's meeting. Zients said he plans to "devote more time to my business and other professional engagements."
The moves come amid a tumultuous time on Facebook's board.
Earlier in March, Facebook board member Kenneth Chenault announced he was stepping down immediately after a spot opened on the board of Berkshire Hathaway. Also in March, the social networking giant announced it was adding former McKinsey executive Nancy Killefer and Estée Lauder Companies Chief Financial Officer Tracey T. Travis. The additions came a month after Drew Houston, the CEO of Dropbox and a friend of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, joined the board.
In October 2019, Susan Desmond-Hellmann, the CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and lead independent director on the board, departed after 6 years. Peggy Alford, the former chief financial officer of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, was appointed to the board when Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and businessman Erskine Bowles left in April 2019.
See Also:
- Facebook was wrongly blocking news articles about the coronavirus pandemic for a full day — here's why it took so long to fix such a major issue
- Tech billionaires including Tim Cook, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg promised 18 million masks to fight COVID-19
- Facebook expands its ad ban to include hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes and COVID-19 test kits to discourage pandemic price-gouging
SEE ALSO: One of Facebook's board members is leaving after a spot opened on the board of Berkshire Hathaway
