Dana White, the Ultimate Fighting Championship C.E.O., Joins Meta’s Board

In a Facebook post on Monday, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta has appointed Dana White, the CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), along with two other executives, to its board.

Meta is bringing in Mr. White, a longtime associate of President-elect Donald J. Trump, as part of its strategy to strengthen connections with the incoming administration. Just last week, the company made significant changes to its policy team, naming a veteran executive with strong Republican ties as the head of global policy. Additionally, Meta has contributed $1 million to Mr. Trump’s inauguration fund.

In recent years, Zuckerberg and White have bonded over their shared interest in professional fighting, particularly mixed martial arts, a sport Zuckerberg began practicing in 2022.https://wordpress.com/

“Dana is the President and CEO of UFC, and he has turned it into one of the most valuable, fastest-growing, and widely recognized sports organizations worldwide,” Zuckerberg stated in his post. “I’ve always admired his entrepreneurial skills and his ability to build such a cherished brand.”

In 2023, White attempted to organize a cage match between Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X (formerly Twitter), Tesla, and SpaceX. Musk, who has become a close ally of Trump, eventually pulled out, citing an old injury, and blamed Zuckerberg for not being available to reschedule the fight.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has created three new seats on its board, increasing the total number of directors to 13. Zuckerberg also revealed that John Elkann, the CEO of Exor—an Italian holding company that controls brands like Jeep and Ferrari—will join the board, along with Charlie Songhurst, a tech investor and former Microsoft executive who has been advising Meta on its artificial intelligence initiatives.

“We see enormous potential ahead in A.I., wearables, and the evolution of social media, and our board will be crucial in helping us realize this vision,” Zuckerberg wrote.

In recent years, Meta has started producing wearable devices, including gaming headsets and camera-equipped smart glasses. The company is also competing in the global A.I. race, launching its own generative A.I. system with an open-source code that can be freely used, modified, and shared by anyone.

Meta has faced significant backlash from Republicans regarding its content moderation practices, which Trump and others accuse of censoring conservative viewpoints. Some of the individuals Trump has selected to regulate the tech industry have indicated their intention to address these concerns.

Recently, Zuckerberg met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where he congratulated the president-elect on his victory in the election.