Facebook Brings Back Chris Cox, a Former Top Lieutenant To Zuckerberg

Facebook said on Thursday that Chris Cox, a former top executive, was returning to the company as chief product officer (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source. The New York Times reports:

Mr. Cox had left the social network in March 2019 over disagreements with Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive. In coming back as chief product officer, Mr. Cox, 37, who was previously at the company for more than a decade, will again become one of the highest-ranking executives at Facebook. “Facebook and our products have never been more relevant to our future,” Mr. Cox said in a statement to his Facebook page announcing his return. “It’s the place I know best, it’s a place I’ve helped to build, and it’s the best place for me to roll up my sleeves and dig in to help.”

In his previous stint at Facebook, Mr. Cox also held the title of chief product officer. At the time, he was seen as a mitigating force to Mr. Zuckerberg internally, according to people who have worked with both executives, and was popular with many rank-and-file employees. Mr. Cox oversaw efforts around Facebook’s main app and its other apps, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. Last spring, Mr. Cox and Mr. Zuckerberg disagreed on the future of the apps, including a “unified messaging” project intended to connect Facebook’s multiple apps. Mr. Zuckerberg wanted to tie the apps together more, while Mr. Cox was concerned about the difficulties of that effort. Mr. Cox later announced his departure.

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