Facebook’s Chief Marketing Officer to Leave After Just Two Years

According to a post from social media giant’s Facebook’s Chief Marketing Officer Antonio Lucio, September 18th will be the last day he works for the company.

Lucio is leaving the company after just two years, citing a desire to dedicate 100% of his time to diversity and inclusion efforts in the marketing and advertising industries.

“It is a time for reckoning for the nation and my industry and it is time for me to play a more active part in accelerating change,” the CMO wrote last week.

“Striking the right balance between preserving freedom of speech and eliminating hateful speech on the platforms is a generation-defining question that must continue to be addressed. I know the company and its leadership agree on the centrality of this important task,” Lucio wrote on LinkedIn.

He had joined Facebook’s ranks in August of 2018 after working as the CMO of HP Inc., He had previously worked at Visa Inc. as well. At Facebook, Lucio was in charge of the company’s most notable marketing efforts. This included the rebranding of the company, adding Facebook’s name to its other globally known products, including Instagram and WhatsApp.

Lucio had reported to Chief Product Officer Chris Cox. He additioally wrote in the Facebook post, “This is a remarkable group of leaders, sometimes misunderstood by the external world, but deeply caring and committed to ensuring these platforms have a positive impact on the world,” he wrote in his post.

Lucio’s full LinkedIn post reads as follows:

After two meaningful years, I have decided to step down as Chief Marketing Officer of Facebook.

This has been a challenging year for all and an especially reflective year for me, following my mother’s passing before the lockdown. Given the historical inflection point we are in regarding racial justice, I have decided to dedicate 100% of my time to diversity, inclusion and equity. Though these issues have been core to my personal purpose and my work for many years, I want to make them my sole focus. I will devote the next chapter of my professional life to helping companies and agencies in the marketing and advertising industries accelerate their transformation and to drive holistic and profound change. It is a time for reckoning for our nation and industry, and it is time for me to play a more active part in accelerating change.

In leaving Facebook, I am nothing but grateful.

I believe in Facebook’s mission, and COVID has demonstrated the platforms at their best. As the company evolves, striking the right balance between preserving freedom of speech and eliminating hateful speech on the platforms is a generation-defining question that must continue to be addressed. I know the company and its leadership agree on the centrality of this important task.

GRACIAS!

Disclaimer: We have no position in Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) and have not been compensated for this article.