On March 14, 2019, Chris Cox, decided to step down as Facebook’s Chief Product Officer at the time Facebook was reorganizing its top leadership as part of its efforts towards an encrypted, integrated messaging network.
Cox was instrumental in developing News Feed and, in his final year, oversaw Facebook’s entire family of apps centered on making private messaging, stories, and groups the foundation of the experience, including enabling encryption and interoperability across all its services. Cox said that theirs were artistic differences and that he respected Mark so much that he did not want to dig deep into the issues that made him leave the company.
After one year, Mark has reunited again with his longtime friend and a computer scientist Chris Cox who took to Facebook to announce his return to the company to resume his role as Chief Product Officer.
“I’m returning to Facebook as our Chief Product Officer. I’ve been away just over a year but it’s a different world now,” he said in a Facebook post.
“Facebook and our products have never been more relevant to our future. 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, “ he added.
Chris explained that he had taken his time to focus on spinning up climate change initiatives, building progressive political infrastructure for the US’ election year, playing with his reggae band, and reconnecting with my family and kiddos.
“I reached out to Mark a while ago and I told him I’d be interested to help. I’ve been following Facebook and I’ve been encouraged by progress on so many of the big issues facing us. In the past month, the world has grown more chaotic and unstable, which has only given me more resolve to help out. Our most important decisions and products are ahead of us” he said.
Christopher Cox would resume his duties, which include overseeing the core Facebook app, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, along with marketing. Cox originally joined Facebook in 2005 as the company’s 13th software engineer and would be arguably the most important person at Facebook after Mark Zuckerberg and C.O.O, Sheryl Sandberg, and probably the heir of Zuckerberg’s position if the tech CEO will ever want to leave Facebook.
At the age of 28, Cox was listed on the Forbes 40 Under 40 list, as well as Fast Company’s list of ‘Most Creative People in Business’. In 2015, Forbes also described him as ‘The Most Important Executive In Silicon Valley That No One Is Talking About’.
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