Joel Kaplan – LinkedIn
Joel Kaplan, former deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, has been named Meta’s new global head of policy. The current president for global affairs at Meta – which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, Nick Clegg, will step down in February. Some are speculating that because of his ties to senior Republicans, including Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanagh, Joel Kaplan’s appointment may be an attempt by Meta to curry favor with the incoming Donald Trump presidential administration.
Mr. Kaplan has at times been a divisive figure within Meta. In 2018, he attended the contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a longtime friend, to show his support. This appearance sparked backlash among employees, many of whom expressed anger on internal message boards, interpreting his presence as an implicit endorsement of Judge Kavanaugh. The controversy was heightened by allegations of sexual assault against Judge Kavanaugh, which he denied. In response to the internal uproar, Mr. Kaplan later apologized to Meta employees who were upset by his actions.
“I am proud of the work I have been able to do leading and supporting teams across the company to ensure innovation can go hand in hand with increased transparency and accountability, and with new forms of governance,” Nick Clegg said in a Facebook post.
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“I will be forever grateful to Mark and Sheryl Sandberg for taking me on in the first place – and to the many colleagues and teams I have had the good luck to work with ever since. It truly has been an adventure of a lifetime,” he added. “Having worked previously for close to two decades in European and British politics, it has been an extraordinary privilege to gain a front row insight into what makes Silicon Valley such an enduring hub of world leading innovation. The pace and scale of change has been as dizzying as it has been ambitious.”
Joel Kaplan is Vice President, Global Public Policy at Facebook. In this role, he manages the company’s global public policy strategy, working with governments and non-governmental organizations to foster understanding and support for Facebook’s innovative technology. He originally joined Facebook in 2011 as Vice President of US Public Policy, overseeing the company’s relationships with policymakers at the federal and state levels.
Before joining Facebook, Joe Kaplan was the Executive Vice President for Public Policy and External Affairs for Energy Future Holdings Corp. (EFH). In that position, Kaplan oversaw enterprise-wide public affairs and led EFH’s efforts to publicly demonstrate and communicate its role in the energy industry.
Kaplan holds degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Before joining Facebook in 2011, he served in several governmental roles, including Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy under President George W. Bush.
Joe Kaplan gained public attention for his presence at high-profile events, such as attending Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing, sparking debates about his role and influence.
