 |
| Dana White |
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has appointed Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship and a good friend of Donald Trump, to its board of directors.
The appointment is bound to please the incoming president. In his book, "Save America," Trump said Zuckerberg would “spend the rest of his life in prison,” if Facebook plotted against his 2024 re-election campaign.
White, who was a fixture at the president-elect’s rallies, is responsible for the strategic direction of UFC, which produces more than 40 live events annually, and broadcasts the fights to nearly 1B households in more than 170 countries.
Trump’s ties to White date back to 2001 when the now president-elect agreed to host cage fighting events at his Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. That move relieved some of political pressure to ban the sport, which Sen. John McCain called “human cockfighting.
During his victory speech on election night, Trump personally White for his support, labelling him a “tough guy.”
Until receiving the invite from Meta, White wasn’t interested in joining a board of directors. "I am a huge believer that social media and AI are the future," he said in a statement. "I am very excited to join this incredible team and to learn more about this business from the inside."
Zuckerberg reportedly bonded with White because he is fighting fanatic. White tried to organize a fight between Zuckerberg and X boss Elon Musk. That effort flopped.
White’s recruitment to the Meta board follows the company's elevation of Republican Joel Kaplan to oversee global public affairs, succeeding UK politico Nick Clegg. Kaplan worked in the White House as deputy chief of staff in the George W. Bush administration.
Facebook’s antitrust trial is slated to begin in April.
Eitan Bencuya, who has more than 20 years of technology PR experience, has signed on with Brunswick Group as a partner in its San Francisco office.
DGA Group has lined up the former US ambassadors to Qatar and Saudi Arabia as senior advisors to help clients navigate that politically complex region.
Narrative Strategies names Adam Silverstein as managing director in New York. Silverstein was most recently head of media relations & thought leadership at Scient Public Relations... Mission North brings on Alex Hunter as EVP of health and innovation... Baird & Warner, a family-owned independent real estate services company that serves the Chicago area, appoints Jeanette Cutler as CMO.
Greg Honan, who worked in the Biden White House as director of message planning and chief of staff for its office of communications, is joining public affairs firm Seven Letter as a managing director.
David Bassity, who was VP for football communications for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, will join the Big Ten Conference on July 20.
