Facebook Shakes Up Board -- WSJ
April 13 2019 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
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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