Kenneth Chenault leaves Facebook's board of directors following disagreements with Mark Zuckerberg over the agency's governance and administrative rules. Chenault implied he would be joining Berkshire Hathaway's board.
The declaration that Mr. Chenault won't run for another term on Facebook's board adds to huge turnover many of the tech giant's administrators. The social media company announced the departure of four independent directors last year. They were replaced with people who have preexisting social or business relationships with Mr. Zuckerberg.
Board participants clashed with Facebook policies
Mr. Chenault and different unbiased board participants have clashed with management over each political advertising and Facebook's policies, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
Last year, Facebook said it wouldn't fact-test political ads. The move is at odds with the regulations of other tech giants. Still, one Mr. Zuckerberg has defended the move as regular with the business enterprise's commitment to unfastened speech. He has also said he doesn't believe a private enterprise needs to make choices about what qualifies as appropriate political messaging.
That position has drawn criticism from many Democratic lawmakers, who believe Facebook must do more to crack down on incorrect information and destructive behaviors online.
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Mr. Chenault, the chairman of venture-capital corporation General Catalyst and a former chief executive of American Express Co., joined Facebook in January 2018 as an independent director. With Facebook facing issues about disinformation on its platform and it's dealing with user data, Mr. Chenault was viewed as a steady hand.
At the time, Zuckerberg said Chenault has unique expertise in areas that Facebook needs to learn and improve --- such as customer service, direct commerce, and building a trusted brand.
Someone familiar with the matter told WSJ that Mr. Chenault grew frustrated that the CEO wasn't taking his advice. Along with a number of the alternative unbiased board participants, Mr. Chenault drove the corporation to do more regarding its role in elections.
Chenault to join Microsoft's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
In a statement, Mr. Chenault stated he stepped all the way down to take a "once in a lifetime" possibility to join the board of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
"I also believe good corporate governance entails limiting the number of board commitments for any director," he said.
Chenault would replace Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who's retiring from the board to focus his "philanthropic priorities," Berkshire said.
During the time Chenault served on Facebook's board, he said the company made progress in dealing with new challenges and continued to expand its reach and to grow the business. "I wish Mark, the directors, and the management team all the best as they lead the company going forward."
Facebook thanks Chenault for the service
In reaction to a query approximately board disagreements and Mr. Chenault's departure, a spokeswoman for General Catalyst referred the Journal to Facebook's statement.
The spokeswoman said Chenault's reasons for stepping down have been very consistent both publicly and privately.
Mr. Zuckerberg thanked Mr. Chenault for his contribution to the agency. "It's been an honor to have a leader of Ken's quality and experience on our board and we learned loads from him," he stated.
