It only took 14 years, but Facebook has finally made good on a promise Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg made to Congressional Black Congress members to hire a black board member. Today (Jan. 18), Facebook 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 Facebook turns 14.
It’s about damn time.
Facebook right now is under scrutiny after a Senate investigation uncovered that Russia was using the social network to take out racist ads as part of their disinformation campaign to influence the Presidential Election. Three weeks later after that, Pro Publica published a report that revealed Facebook was still allowing housing advertisers to exclude users based on their race. Black lawmakers came after them with a lawsuit back in 2016 and Facebook promised to put a an end to the practice.
The announcement of this appointment is finally some much needed good news for the popular social network. 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.”
Word? For years? Hmmmmm
Well, we just hope some actual progress comes from this move and it’s not just something they are doing because it just looks and sounds good on paper.
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Photo by Michael Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times
