META Meta Platforms Inc

By Jeff Horwitz 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (April 13, 2019).

Two of Facebook Inc.'s longest-serving board members will be stepping down as part of a shake-up of the company's governance announced Friday.

Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings and former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles won't be standing for re-election later this year, the company announced Friday.

The move strips Facebook of two of its longest-serving directors without historical investment stakes or close ties to the company's leadership.

Messrs. Hastings and Bowles have served on the Facebook board since 2011. Only venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and investor Peter Thiel, two of the company's early backers, have served longer.

Peggy Alford, a senior vice president at PayPal Holdings Inc., will be joining the board as its first African-American woman.

Before joining PayPal earlier this year, Ms. Alford was chief financial officer of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropic organization of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan. Mr. Zuckerberg is also chairman of Facebook's board of directors.

Before her work for the foundation, Ms. Alford held a number of posts at PayPal, including chief financial officer of the Americas and senior vice president of human resources.

The shuffle announced Friday removes two board members well known in political circles, at a time when Facebook is under increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over its approach to privacy and the policing of its platforms. Mr. Bowles, a North Carolina businessman, was White House chief of staff during the Clinton administration and a longtime figure in Washington. Mr. Hastings has been known for his support of Democratic causes and opposition to Donald Trump. During the 2016 presidential election, Mr. Hastings criticized fellow board member Mr. Thiel's public support for Mr. Trump as "catastrophically bad judgment," according to an email reported by the New York Times.

Mr. Hastings offered to resign after the disagreement with Mr. Thiel was made public, and Mr. Zuckerberg rejected the suggestion, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

Mr. Hastings's departure from Facebook's board comes as the social-media giant has increasingly sought to establish itself as a player in video entertainment, making it more of a rival to Netflix. The prospect of conflicts of interest with more conventional entertainment companies contributed to Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg's departure from the board of Walt Disney Co. last year.

Mr. Bowles was a member of Facebook's audit committee, which was strengthened last year after investors pushed for its mandate to include privacy, cybersecurity and social impact. Even before the change, Mr. Bowles had stood out for his concern about the potential for Facebook to be used in foreign political interference.

During a September briefing on Russian meddling, Mr. Bowles told Mr. Zuckerberg and Ms. Sandberg that "this is going to be much bigger than you think," the Journal previously reported.

In a filing alongside Facebook's shareholder proxy, Facebook stated that as a "general policy" the company doesn't renominate directors who have reached the age of 72. Bowles is 73 years old.

In a statement, Mr. Zuckerberg said of Ms. Alford: "Peggy is one of those rare people who's an expert across many different areas -- from business management to finance operations to product development. I know she will have great ideas that help us address both the opportunities and challenges facing our company."

Despite a drumbeat of negative headlines, Facebook's underlying business remains strong. The company's share price has climbed more than 35% since the start of the year, compared with about 20% for the Nasdaq Composite.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 13, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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