A NEW FACE, AN OLD DILEMMA

With Sheryl Sandberg's departure, global affairs chief Nick Clegg wields more influence than ever at Meta as Mark Zuckerberg's de facto No. 2. Can the former U.K. politico persuade the world's governments to trust the social media giant again?

-  Jeremy Kahn

JAVIER OLIVAN

Zuckerberg once called Olivan, Sheryl Sandberg’s successor as Meta’s chief operating officer, “one of the most influential people in Facebook history.” A 14-year veteran of the company, serving most recently as chief growth officer, “Javi” oversaw much of the company’s international expansion. The native of Spain later expanded his remit to include oversight of Meta’s core infrastructure, ad products, marketing, analytics, corporate development, and trust and safety issues. A consummate corporate insider, Olivan plans to be more of a traditional COO than Sandberg, without a prominent public profile.

AS A MOB stormed up the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, shouting “Stop the steal!” and brandishing posters that referenced QAnon conspiracy theories, much of the world watched in dumbstruck shock. In few places was the sense of horror greater than inside the offices of Facebook.