Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan is leaving the company after a tenure spanning a decade and a half, according to a company representative. Kaplan, a prominent longtime adviser to Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg and a well-connected figure with staunch Republican ties, assumed his current top global policy role ahead of President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in early 2025. He is slated to depart in 2027, following the 2026 U.S. midterm elections.
Kaplan originally joined Meta in 2011 to oversee U.S. public policy, bringing with him a background that included working on the political campaign and in the administration of President George W. Bush. Over his fifteen years at the social media giant, he managed its Washington engagement and policy efforts, navigating shifting political landscapes through successive administrations.
His departure comes as Zuckerberg has increasingly relied on other influential figures for strategic counsel. In recent times, Zuckerberg has elevated former Trump administration official Dina Powell McCormick as a key right-hand adviser. Powell McCormick, who also previously served as an executive at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., brings extensive connections across both Washington and Wall Street to her new responsibilities.
Alongside her advisory role, Powell McCormick serves as a co-leader of Meta Compute. In that capacity, she is assisting the company in pursuing its ambitious artificial intelligence objectives while working to address and smooth out broader public and regulatory concerns surrounding the technology, particularly its massive infrastructure footprint and the extensive network of data centers required nationwide.
