Things have been rough at Meta of late and now one of the longest serving members of the board of directors has announced they will not be standing for re-election.
That board member is the often controversial Peter Thiel. Having joined Meta when it was still Facebook in April 2005, this is a rather strange move from Theil. While he didn’t share his reasons for his move, one has to think Meta’s recent financial results and worrying forecast for 2022 played a role in his decision.
Of course, 17 years is a long time to be a part of a company so perhaps the reason is as simple as Thiel needing a change of scenery.
“It has been a privilege to work with one of the great entrepreneurs of our time. Mark Zuckerberg’s intelligence, energy, and conscientiousness are tremendous. His talents will serve Meta well as he leads the company into a new era,” Thiel said in a statement.
The tenure of Thiel has not been without its controversies. The billionaire threw his weight behind Donald Trump in 2016, as well as Republican candidates such as Kris Kobach. In 2016 a former university peer of Thiel’s highlighted a conversation with him in which he called Apartheid a, “sound economic system working efficiently, and moral issues were irrelevant”.
Despite this, Zuckerberg has defended Thiel and even had the kindest words to offer the billionaire on his departure from the board.
“Peter has been a valuable member of our board and I’m deeply grateful for everything he has done for our company — from believing in us when few others would, to teaching me so many lessons about business, economics, and the world. Peter is truly an original thinker who you can bring your hardest problems and get unique suggestions. He has served on our board for almost two decades, and we’ve always known that at some point he would devote his time to other interests,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.
It’s unclear whether Meta is looking to replace Thiel, but as his position only lapses at the company’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders for 2022, we suspect it will be a while still before Meta announces a new board member.
We expect that member to be a rather recognisable name given the station of the other members.
[Image – CC BY 2.0 Heisenberg Media]
