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Meta has appointed three new members to its board of administrators, together with Dana White, the president and CEO of Final Preventing Championship and a familiar figure within the orbit of incoming President Donald Trump.
The social media firm, which owns Fb, Instagram and WhatsApp, can also be including auto tycoon John Elkann and tech investor Charlie Songhurst, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated in a Facebook post late Monday.
Tapping White to affix the board might be seen as Zuckerberg’s newest maneuver to enhance ties with Trump, who was once banned from Facebook. After Trump gained re-election in November, Zuckerberg dined on the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago membership in Florida and Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. Different Huge Tech corporations akin to Amazon have donated comparable quantities.
Trump is a longtime UFC fan and frequent attendee of main fights.
His ties with White date again to 2001, when White hosted a UFC on the Republican’s former casino-hotel in Atlantic Metropolis, New Jersey, the Trump Taj Mahal. Trump has additionally appeared with White at UFC matches over time, particularly in his 2024 marketing campaign as a part of efforts to attraction to youthful male voters.
White, in flip, has had talking roles on the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Republican conventions and appeared on stage at Trump’s election victory celebration in November, even talking briefly to the gang.
The pair attended a UFC pay-per-view card after the election at Madison Sq. Backyard, the place followers applauded as organizers confirmed video highlights of Trump’s highway to reclaiming the White Home.
White has constructed UFC “into one of the worthwhile, quickest rising, and hottest sports activities enterprises on this planet,” Zuckerberg stated. “I’ve admired him as an entrepreneur and his means to construct such a beloved model.”
Zuckerberg can also be active in mixed martial arts. Zuckerberg and fellow billionaire Elon Musk seemingly agreed to fight in a “cage match” in 2023, but it surely by no means occurred.
Elkann, one other individual becoming a member of Meta’s board, is the CEO of Exor, a Netherlands-based funding firm, and chairman of its two auto corporations, Stellantis and Ferrari.
Zuckerberg stated Elkann has “deep expertise operating giant international companies and he brings a world perspective to our board.”
Songhurst beforehand labored at Microsoft and joined started advising Meta final yr on synthetic intelligence.
