Joel Kaplan to replace Nick Clegg as Meta global policy leader

Meta will switch up its global policy team in the new year and has appointed former Bush administration official Joel Kaplan to replace Nick Clegg as the company's chief global affairs officer.

Clegg announced on Thursday he will depart from the role of president of global affairs at Meta in the coming months, stating now is the "right time" for him to move on.

"And no one could pick up from where I’ve left off with greater skill and integrity than my deputy, Joel Kaplan," he wrote on social media. "I am simply thrilled that Joel will now become Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer."

In a lengthy social media post, Clegg reflected on his work with Kaplan and the friendship they developed over the years, writing, "He will be able to build on what we have done together, and improve upon what I failed to get done."

"Joel is quite clearly the right person for the right job at the right time - ideally placed to shape the company’s strategy as societal and political expectations around technology continue to evolve," Clegg added.

Clegg, who served as deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015, joined Meta, then known as Facebook, in 2018 to run its global policy organization. He was picked to lead the company's global policy efforts in 2018.

Kaplan has served as vice president of global public for Meta since 2014 after serving as vice president of U.S. public policy for more than three years.

Kevin Martin, Meta's current vice president of U.S. public policy and former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair, will step into Kaplan's current role, the company confirmed.

"I know Kevin will be a strong leader of the policy org and will continue to be a great partner to Joel," Clegg wrote.

The switch-up comes just weeks ahead of President-elect Trump's Inauguration and marks another signal Meta is attempting to court the president-elect as he heads into his second term.

Meta dished out a $1 million donation to Trump’s inaugural fund last month while company CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with the president-elect at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Zuckerberg thanked Clegg for his work, writing on Facebook, "I've learned so much working with you and our whole team is better for having this opportunity. You've made an important impact advancing Meta's voice and values around the world, as well as our vision for AI and the metaverse. You've also built a strong team to carry this work forward."

"I'm excited for Joel to step into this role next given his deep experience and insight leading our policy work for many years," he added.