Meta has appointed three new directors to its board, including Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White, one of the media industry’s most influential executives and a prominent supporter of US President-elect Donald Trump.
Along with White, the social media company announced this Monday (6) Charlie Songhurst, an investor and former Microsoft executive who already advises Meta on artificial intelligence products, and John Elkann, CEO of Exor, a holding company controlled by the Agnelli family who own stakes in European companies, including Ferrari and Juventus Football Club.
The appointments bring Meta’s board to 13 directors, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who holds the title of chairman and maintains majority voting control through the company’s dual-class share structure.
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“Charlie, Dana and John will bring a depth of expertise and perspective that will help us tackle the enormous opportunities ahead with AI, wearables and the future of human connection,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.
Zuckerberg, 40, has largely revamped Meta’s board over the past five years, a change in leadership that coincided with its transition to artificial intelligence and the metaverse, a digital world where the company expects people to work, play and exercise a day. All but two of Meta’s current directors have joined since 2019. In some cases, Zuckerberg has brought in entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley, such as DoorDash CEO Tony Xu and Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, who is a personal friend of the co-founder. of Meta.
White, 55, also a friend of Zuckerberg, grew the UFC into one of the most popular sports and entertainment businesses in the world. Zuckerberg, an MMA fanatic and part-time fighter, posted a photo on Instagram alongside White during a UFC fight in February, and White sought Zuckerberg’s advice about incorporating AI into the UFC’s ratings system last year.
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White was also one of Trump’s main supporters during his 2024 campaign, speaking at the Republican National Convention and the president-elect’s election night event. White appeared in Trump’s first TikTok video and is credited with helping raise his profile among young male voters.
Trump has been critical of Meta in the past, and in recent months Zuckerberg has worked to improve their relationship, including a dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in November. Last week, Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — appointed Joel Kaplan, an executive with strong ties to the Republican Party, as head of policy.
Songhurst was previously general manager of global corporate strategy at Microsoft, where he was involved in some of the company’s biggest deals, including the $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype. He has also been advising Zuckerberg and other Meta executives on AI since last year as part of a new product advisory board. Songhurst will leave that board to take a position on the board, a company spokesperson said.
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Elkann, 48, is the executive chairman of Stellantis and Ferrari, and leads the Agnelli Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on education.
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.
