Dethroning Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg – The Wall Street Journal
DUBLIN – Various large public funds in the US are moving to have Mark Zuckerberg removed as Facebook chairman. They want an independent chair who can oversee and perhaps moderate Zuckerberg's actions while he continues in his role as CEO. This has echoes of the SEC's recent deal with Tesla, which requires the company to split the roles of chairman and CEO, both of which are currently held by Elon Musk. It seems that investors and regulators are slowly awakening to some of the risks that face exponential growth tech companies like Facebook and, to a lesser extent, Tesla. Facebook has been in the public eye over the last few years for the mismanagement of a number of private data issues and for its role in the spread of fake news and foreign propaganda in US elections. Shareholders are now hoping to bring in new a new leader who can help the company better navigate the increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment it operates in. Similarly, at Tesla, regulators hope that splitting the roles of chair and CEO will help insulate the company from the volatile behaviour of the man at the top. It's a small change, but a noteworthy one. After ten years' of doing as they like, the tech geniuses are being asked to report to some responsible adults. – Felicity Duncan
By Deepa Seetharaman
(The Wall Street Journal) Several public funds with holdings in Facebook Inc., including New York City's pension funds, are backing a shareholder proposal to push out Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg as chairman of the social-media giant's board of directors.
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