Meta's chief business officer Marne Levine quits after 13 years
Marne Levine, Meta's chief business officer, has decided to step down from the company later this year after a 13-year-long stint. She is the latest in the line of top executives that have quit the company in the past few months. The new development comes in the backdrop of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's call for flattening the company's organizational structure.
Why does this story matter?
Last year, Meta laid off around 11,000 employees. Based on reports, however, the company is not done firing staffers. Zuckerberg is unhappy with the company's organizational structure, which has multiple levels of middle management. While announcing its quarterly results, he said that 2023 would be the "year of efficiency" at Meta. As part of this, we are expected to see more layoffs.
She was Instagram's first COO
Levine will step down from her position on February 21, 2023. She will remain an employee of the company till her departure. A Harvard Business School alumna, Levine began her time at the company as vice president of global public policy at Facebook. She was also Instagram's first chief operating officer and played a massive part in making it an important part of Meta.
Grateful for her commitment to Meta: Javier Olivan
Javier Olivan, Meta's chief operating officer, said, "From running global policy to growing our Instagram business as the first COO, to leading our ads and business partnerships teams, Marne has been an incredible leader at Meta over the last 13 years." "I'm grateful for our partnership, her commitment to Meta, and the energy she brought to the company every day," he added.
Nicola Mendelsohn and Justin Osofsky are Levine's replacements
Nicola Mendelsohn and Justin Osofsky will take on expanded roles in the wake of Levine's departure. Mendelsohn's head of global business group role will now include overseeing global partnerships and engineering. Osofsky will be the new head of online sales, operations, and partnerships. He will focus on revenue generation and growing small and medium-sized businesses on Meta platforms.
Sheryl Sandberg and John Carmack quit Meta last year
Last year, Olivan's predecessor Sheryl Sandberg quit after 14 years at the company. She played a significant role in making Meta the ad behemoth it later became. Her exit was followed by the resignation of John Carmack, the company's VR head. He left Meta after being associated with it for nine years. Carmack said at the time that Meta is "operating at half efficiency."
Meta India saw a slew of departures last year
Meta's India operation also saw some high-profile exits last year. In November, the company's country head Ajit Mohan quit to become Snap's Asia-Pacific head. Later, Rajiv Aggarwal, Meta's public policy head, resigned from the company. WhatsApp India also saw a slew of departures. Abhijit Bose, WhatsApp's India head, and Vijay Choletti, the head of WhatsApp Pay, resigned from the company in 2022.
