Facebook announced Tuesday that it appointed Jeff Zients, a former leader within the Obama administration, to its board of directors and audit committee.
“I am proud to join the Facebook Board and I look forward to working with Mark [Zuckerberg] and the other directors as the company builds for the future,” Zients said in a company blog post. “This is an exciting time for the company, and I am delighted to be part of the Board as the company works to face the opportunities and challenges of trying to bring the world closer together.”
Along with several leadership roles in the private sector over the years, Zients served as the director of the United States National Economic Council from March 2014 until early 2017. He also was the head of the Office of Management and Budget from January 2012 to April 2013. Zients’ assumption of the Facebook role means the “board will consist of seven independent, non-employee directors out of none total directors.” (RELATED: Facebook Spent Millions Lobbying The Government Over The Years. Has It Been A Total Waste?)
The inclusion of a past Obama administration official, a top one at that, is not very surprising as many of the highest people in government often move to some of the biggest companies, and vice-versa.
Facebook’s then-chief marketing officer announced in January that he was leaving the tech giant so he could advise the Democratic Party ahead of the elections in 2018 and 2020. And Zuckerberg’s current vice president of public policy, Joel Kaplan, who was front and center during recent congressional hearings featuring the company’s CEO, worked for former President George W. Bush as his deputy chief of staff. (RELATED: Zuckerberg Hires Hillary Clinton Pollster As A Consultant)
There are many other examples of a seemingly smooth private-to-public sector or public-to-private sector switch.
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