Facebook Hires Top State Department Lawyer and Bill Gates's Former PR Chief

By Jeff Horwitz

Facebook Inc. is bringing on a new top lawyer and a communications boss to handle the mounting regulatory and public-relations issues facing the social-media giant.

The company named Jennifer Newstead as its general counsel on Monday, putting a longtime Washington attorney in charge of its legal affairs at a time when it is increasingly engaged with regulators around the world about how best to police social media.

The company separately named John Pinette, who previously advised Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates among other jobs, to be the new vice president of global communications.

The moves help restock Facebook's leadership in the levels below Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. A number of senior officials and department heads have left Facebook over the past year, an unusual rate of turnover after the executive team was relatively stable for most of its tenure as a public company.

Facebook in October hired former U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to be its global head of policy and communications.

Write to Jeff Horwitz at jeff.horwitz@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2019 16:14 ET (20:14 GMT)

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