Rachel Whetstone
Rachel Whetstone

British executive Rachel Whetstone is joining Facebook to head global communications, replacing Jonathan Friedland, who was fired in June for using the N-word during a staff meeting.

The move comes as Netflix is spending a big chunk of its $8B programming budget outside the US and unveiled plans to shell out $1B for original productions in Europe, according to the Financial Times.

"Rachel is a proven communications leader and a strong addition to the Netflix team," Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, said in a statement. "Her deep knowledge and international expertise will be invaluable as we bring Netflix and its expanding lineup of original content to an increasingly global audience."

Whetstone joined Facebook a year ago as VP-communications in charge of Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.

Earlier, she did a two-year stint at Uber and spent a decade at Google as senior VP-communications and public policy.

At Google, she was front and center as Google tangled with the European Commission over its market leadership position.