UFC CEO Dana White joins Meta board as Facebook strengthens Trump ties
Jessica Guynn
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, who campaigned for President-elect Donald Trump, is one of three recent board members at Facebook-owner Meta Platforms.
The social media business announced Monday that it had added White alongside former Microsoft executive Charlie Songhurst and John Elkann, who runs a major European capital business Exor NV controlled by the Agnelli household.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, created three recent board seats for the appointments. The board now has 13 directors including CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
“Charlie, Dana and John will add a depth of expertise and perspective that will assist us tackle the massive opportunities ahead with AI, wearables and the upcoming of human connection,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.
A fan of mixed martial arts and a recreational fighter, Zuckerberg bonded with White over their shared interests. In February, Zuckerberg posted a picture on Instagram with White at a UFC fight in February.
White, a key supporter of Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign and spoke at the Republican National Convention, helped drum up gain among youthful male voters.
“I’ve never been interested in joining a board of directors until I got the propose to join Meta’s board. I am a huge believer that social media and AI are the upcoming,” White said.
Zuckerberg has worked to patch up the strained connection between Trump and Meta in recent months.
The political correct has complained for years that large Tech – and Meta in particular – stifles conservative voices and viewpoints. Prominent conservatives including Trump have vowed to crack down on what they view as anti-conservative bias.
Naming White to the Meta board was the latest in a series of movies to strengthen ties with the incoming Trump administration. Zuckerberg dined at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in November and Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Last week, it shuffled its leadership ranks to name Joel Kaplan, an executive with extensive GOP ties, as its global policy chief.
