Facebook Hires Top State Department Lawyer and Bill Gates's Former PR Chief -- Update
April 22 2019 - 4:42PM
Dow Jones News
By Jeff Horwitz
Facebook Inc. is bringing on a new top lawyer and a
communications boss to handle the mounting regulatory and
public-relations issues facing the social-media giant.
The company named Jennifer Newstead as its general counsel on
Monday, putting a longtime Washington attorney in charge of its
legal affairs at a time when it is increasingly engaged with
regulators around the world about how best to police social
media.
The company separately named John Pinette, who previously
advised Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates among other jobs, to
be the new vice president of global communications.
The moves help restock Facebook's leadership in the levels below
Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl
Sandberg. A number of senior officials and department heads have
left Facebook over the past year, an unusual rate of turnover after
the executive team was relatively stable for most of its tenure as
a public company.
Facebook in October hired former U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Nick
Clegg to be its global head of policy and communications.
Appointed by President Trump as the State Department's top legal
adviser in 2017, Ms. Newstead publicly advocated for and helped
oversee the reimposition of sanctions on Iran during her time at
State. She is replacing outgoing general counsel Colin Stretch, who
announced in July that he intended to leave Facebook at the end of
last year.
Mr. Stretch, who led the company's legal response to Russian
political interference on Facebook's platform during the 2016
election, stayed on longer amid high-profile questions last year
about how the company handled user data.
Before her most recent stint in government, Ms. Newstead was a
partner at Davis, Polk & Wardwell LLP handling cross-border
regulatory matters. She also previously served as an attorney in
the George W. Bush administration and clerked for Supreme Court
Justice Stephen Breyer. She is credited with writing portions of
the Patriot Act, which expanded law enforcement's ability to
conduct surveillance in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks.
In the 2006 book "War by Other Means: An Insider's Account of
the War on Terror," the former Deputy Assistant Attorney General
John Yoo described her as "a quick study and effective advocate"
who became the "day-to-day manager of the Patriot Act in
Congress."
"Jennifer is a seasoned leader whose global perspective and
experience will help us fulfill our mission," said Ms. Sandberg in
a statement welcoming Ms. Newstead and thanking Mr. Stretch for his
nine years at the company. In the same statement, Ms. Newstead said
she looked forward to working with regulators and outside experts
"as we seek to uphold our responsibilities and shared values."
Until earlier this year, Mr. Pinette worked for Vulcan Inc.,
which handled the business and philanthropic affairs of deceased
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Previous jobs include managing the
communications of Bill Ackman's investment firm, Pershing Square
Capital Management; handling Mr. Gates's personal image and
communications program; and heading Google's communications in
Asia.
Mr. Pinette will replace Caryn Marooney, who announced in
February that she would be leaving Facebook.
"John's deep understanding of the technology industry and his
experience leading communications teams will be invaluable to
helping us communicate the work we do at Facebook every day," Ms.
Sandberg said.
Both of Facebook's new hires will be relocating to the company's
headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.
Write to Jeff Horwitz at jeff.horwitz@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 22, 2019 16:27 ET (20:27 GMT)
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