- Facebook board member Kenneth Chenault is stepping down, the latest in a series of recent big moves on the board of directors.
- The General Catalyst managing director is doing so after a spot opened on the board of Berkshire Hathaway, he said.
- On Friday, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates stepped down from the boards of Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft to focus on philanthropy.
One of Facebook’s board members is stepping down after a spot opened on the board of Berkshire Hathaway.
Kenneth Chenault, the chairman and managing director of General Catalyst is leaving Facebook’s board of directors, the company said on Friday. The announcement came immediately after Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates announced on Friday that he would be leaving the boards of both Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft to focus on his “philanthropic priorities.”
In a statement shared by Facebook in a blog post, Chenault seemed to imply he would be joining Berkshire Hathaway’s board: “I am stepping down from the board because I have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work more closely with my friend Warren Buffett, the Berkshire Hathaway board and the management team. I also believe good corporate governance entails limiting the number of board commitments for any director.”
His departure is the latest in a series of significant moves on Facebook’s board over the last few years.
Earlier in March, the social networking giant announced it was adding former McKinsey executive Nancy Killefer and Estée Lauder Companies chief financial officer Tracey T. Travis. The additions came a month after Drew Houston, the CEO of Dropbox and a friend of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, joined the board.
In October 2019, Susan Desmond-Hellmann, the CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and lead independent director on the board, departed after six years. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and businessman Erskine Bowles left in April 2019, while Peggy Alford, the former chief financial officer of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, was appointed.
In addition to Killefer, Travis, Houston, Zuckerberg, and Alford, Facebook’s board now includes Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, investor Marc Andreessen, Founders Fund investor Peter Thiel, and Cranemere Group CEO Jeffrey Zients.
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