Meta $META ( ▼ 1.7% ) is adding a heavyweight political and finance operator to its leadership team as it ramps up its AI ambitions.
The company announced Monday that Dina Powell McCormick, a longtime Goldman Sachs executive and former Trump administration deputy national security adviser, has been appointed Meta’s first-ever president and vice chairman.
A New Top Role at Meta
Powell McCormick previously served on Meta’s board for eight months before resigning in late 2025. Now she returns in a far more operational role, taking on a newly created position that signals Meta is gearing up for a more complex phase of global growth and capital deployment.
Meta has never had a president title in this format before, which makes the appointment notable even before you get to the politics.
Trump World Ties Meet Silicon Valley Power
President Trump publicly praised the move on Truth Social, calling her appointment a “great choice by Mark Z!!!” and describing Powell McCormick as a “fantastic, and very talented, person” who served his administration “with strength and distinction!”
Her resume includes serving as deputy national security adviser during Trump’s first term, giving her deep experience in government, geopolitics, and Washington power dynamics, areas that increasingly matter to big tech.
The AI Infrastructure Angle
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Powell McCormick’s background in global finance and international relationships makes her “uniquely suited” to help Meta manage its next phase of growth.
A key part of that job: building capital partnerships to fund Meta’s massive AI infrastructure investments, a nod to the reality that AI dominance is now as much about financing data centers as it is about building models.
A Politically Connected Hire
Powell McCormick is also married to Republican Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick, a former Bridgewater executive, which adds another layer of high-level political and financial connectivity.
Bottom line: Meta isn’t just hiring an executive, it’s hiring an operator with deep Wall Street access and Washington credibility right as the company spends aggressively to win the AI arms race.