Head of Facebook's Hardware Lab Resigns -- WSJ
October 18 2017 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Deepa Seetharaman
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (October 18, 2017).
The head of Facebook Inc.'s cutting-edge hardware lab, Building
8, is stepping down after a year and a half.
Regina Dugan, formerly a Pentagon research chief and top
executive at Alphabet Inc.'s Google, will leave Facebook in early
2018 "to focus on building and leading a new endeavor," she
announced on Tuesday in a Facebook post. Ms. Dugan has been in
charge of Building 8 since the lab's creation in April 2016.
Ms. Dugan didn't mention her next project.
In her post, she quoted from John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural
address. The speech urged Americans to find a common bond despite
differences, in hopes that "a beachhead of cooperation may push
back the jungle of suspicion."
In a separate statement provided by a Facebook spokeswoman, Ms.
Dugan tied her departure to the tech industry's broader reckoning
with the way their products are used for harm. Facebook, in
particular, has been in the spotlight since it disclosed last month
that Russian actors purchased advertisements on its platform in
hopes of stoking divisions before and after the 2016 U.S.
presidential election.
"There is a tidal shift going on in Silicon Valley, and those of
us in this industry have greater responsibilities than ever
before," Ms. Dugan said in the statement. "The timing feels right
to step away and be purposeful about what's next, thoughtful about
new ways to contribute in times of disruption."
Building 8 focuses on bleeding-edge ideas, such as technology
that can allow people to type directly from their brains and "hear"
with their skin. When Building 8 was created, Facebook Chief
Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the unit would create hardware
products that "advance our mission of connecting the world."
But hardware is still an unfamiliar area for Facebook, whose
core strength is in developing software services like its Facebook
app used by two billion people a month. In August, Facebook
promoted one of its most senior executives, Andrew Bosworth, to
oversee all of its hardware efforts, including Building 8.
The spring 2016 launch of Facebook's first hardware offering --
the Oculus Rift virtual-reality goggles -- was undercut by shipping
problems as well as rising competition from HTC Corp. and Sony
Corp. Building 8 hasn't launched a hardware product yet.
Write to Deepa Seetharaman at Deepa.Seetharaman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 18, 2017 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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