META Meta Platforms Inc

By Jeff Horwitz and Deepa Seetharaman 

Kenneth Chenault will be leaving Facebook Inc.'s board of directors following disagreements with Mark Zuckerberg over the company's governance and political policies, according to people familiar with the matter.

The announcement that Mr. Chenault won't run for another term on Facebook's board, made after markets closed Friday, adds to significant turnover among the tech giant's directors. In the last year, the company has announced the departure of four independent directors -- former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, former Genentech executive Susan Desmond-Hellmann and now Mr. Chenault -- replacing them in some instances with people who have preexisting social or business relationships with Mr. Zuckerberg.

Mr. Chenault and other independent board members have in recent months clashed with management over both political advertising and Facebook's policies related to discourse on its platform, said the people familiar with the matter.

Facebook last year said it wouldn't fact-check political ads, a decision that is at odds with the policies of other tech giants but one Mr. Zuckerberg has defended as consistent with the company's commitment to free speech. He has also said he doesn't believe a private company should make decisions about what qualifies as acceptable political messaging.

That position has drawn criticism from a number of quarters, including many Democratic lawmakers, who believe Facebook should do more to crack down on misinformation and toxic behaviors online.

Mr. Chenault, the chairman of venture-capital firm General Catalyst and a former chief executive of American Express Co., joined Facebook in January in 2018 as an independent director. With Facebook facing concerns about disinformation on its platform and its handling of user data, Mr. Chenault was viewed as a steady hand.

"He has unique expertise in areas I believe Facebook needs to learn and improve -- customer service, direct commerce and building a trusted brand," Mr. Zuckerberg said at the time.

But Mr. Chenault grew frustrated that the CEO wasn't taking his advice, according to a person familiar with the matter. Along with some of the other independent board members, Mr. Chenault pushed the company to do more regarding its role in elections. That position wasn't universally held among the independent board members: Venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who has a long personal history with Mr. Zuckerberg, has largely urged the company to stay the course and ignore public criticism.

"That was rather short-lived," said Jonas Kron, the director of Trillium Asset Management, referring to Mr. Chenault's tenure on the Facebook board. Trillium has pushed Facebook to split its chief executive and board chairman roles and has advocated for the company to name a new lead independent director, a position left vacant since the departure of Ms. Desmond-Hellmann last year.

Among the recent additions to Facebook's board was Dropbox Inc. Chief Executive Drew Houston, a friend of Mr. Zuckerberg's who has appeared with him at social events.

In a statement, Mr. Chenault said he was stepping down to take a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to join the board of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

"During the time I served on the board, the company made progress in dealing with new challenges and continued to expand its reach and to grow the business," he said. "I wish Mark, the directors, and the management team all the best as they lead the company going forward."

Mr. Zuckerberg thanked Mr. Chenault for his contribution to the company. "It's been an honor to have a leader of Ken's caliber and experience on our board and we learned a lot from him," he said.

Write to Jeff Horwitz at Jeff.Horwitz@wsj.com and Deepa Seetharaman at Deepa.Seetharaman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 13, 2020 19:44 ET (23:44 GMT)

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