Meta’s global affairs president Nick Clegg parts ways with tech giant ahead of Trump presidency ‘right time to move on…’ | Company Business News

Tech giant Meta’s global affairs president and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Nick Clegg is parting ways with the Silicon Valley company, as per his post on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).

The move comes just ahead of the impending Presidency of Donald Trump, a PA Media report noted.

‘Adventure of a Lifetime’

“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. It truly has been an adventure of a lifetime! I am proud of the work I have been able to do leading and supporting teams across the company to ensure innovation can go hand in hand with increased transparency and accountability, and with new forms of governance,” Clegg wrote on X on January 3.

“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. I hope I have played some role in seeking to bridge the very different worlds of tech and politics – worlds that will continue to interact in unpredictable ways across the globe,” he added.

Insight Into Silicon Valley

In a series of posts, Clegg thanked Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg “for taking me on in the first place” – and his colleagues, adding that it was an “extraordinary privilege to gain a front row insight into what makes Silicon Valley such an enduring hub of world leading innovation”.

Clegg also spoke about Joel Kaplan taking his place as Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer. “Over the years that we have worked together, we have become good friends as well as close colleagues — I have laughed with, as well as learned from, Joel in equal measure. He is quite clearly the right person for the right job at the right time! I much look forward to spending the next few months handing over the reins to Joel before finally leaving Meta after so many enjoyable years at the company.”

Notably, Kaplan is a former Republican White House deputy chief of staff who served under George W Bush from 2006 to 2009. 

(With inputs from PA Media)