It’s hard to believe that Facebook has been around for 14 years, and even harder to believe the social media giant has yet to appoint a person of color to their board of directors, until now.
Facebook just announced that American Express CEO Kenneth I. Chenault will be appointed to the Facebook board of directors, effective February 5th, 2017 which also happens to be the day when the site turns 14 years old. This makes good on a promise COO Sheryl Sandberg made to Congressional Black Congress members to hire a black board member.
Chenault had this to say about becoming a board member: “I’m delighted to join the board and look forward to working with Mark and the other directors as Facebook continues to build communities that help bring people closer to friends, family and the world around them.”
Facebook’s CEO and founder, Mark Zuckerberg had this to add about the addition of Chenault to the board: “I’ve been trying to recruit Ken for years. He has unique expertise in areas I believe Facebook needs to learn and improve — customer service, direct commerce and building a trusted brand. Ken also has a strong sense of social mission and the perspective that comes from running an important public company for decades.”
