Cambridge Analytica Scandal: Facebook Shakes Up Its Management Team

Facebook has announced an unprecedented management team shakeup in the aftermath of a major data privacy Cambridge Analytica scandal that has rocked the social network.

In the shake up, Mark Zuckerberg remained chief of Facebook, with chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg his second-in-command. Chris Cox, a longtime member of Zuckerberg’s inner circle, was put in charge of Facebook’s core application as well as smartphone services Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

Facebook reshaped its product and engineering teams into three units, including an emerging technologies division focused on blockchain technology used for cryptocurrencies. David Marcus said in a post on the social network that, after four years in charge of Messenger, he is “setting up a small group to explore how best to leverage blockchain across Facebook.”

He expressed confidence in his Messenger successor, whom he identified as Stan Chudnovsky. Longtime Facebook executive Javier Olivan will be in charge of a “central product services” division handling features such as security and ads that are common to various services run by the social network, according to Recode.

While more than a dozen executives saw their jobs change, none appeared to be leaving the company. WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum last month announced his departure from Facebook, which bought the smartphone messaging service four years ago for $19 billion.