According to a company filing, Schroepfer informed Facebook of his intention to resign from his position as CTO on Monday. The said filing further reveals that he will become the company’s first Senior Fellow in 2022. Under the new “part-time” role, he will help the company with recruiting and developing technical talent. He will also work on some other initiatives such as artificial intelligence (AI). Schroepfer says this will allow him to dedicate more time to his family and “personal philanthropic efforts.” “This is a difficult decision because of how much I love Facebook and how excited I am about the future we are building together,” he said. “I’m confident and grateful for Boz’s leadership and the deep and talented technical bench of leaders we have at the helm.” Schroepfer is leaving Facebook amid controversies that the company is failing to address many problems on its platform, CNBC notes. The mental impact of Instagram on teenage girls is one of the biggest issues the social network needs to address. Drug cartels in Mexico using the platform to hire hitmen is another major problem affecting Facebook users. The publication is citing reports from The Wall Street Journal.
Mike Schroepfer is the latest Facebook executive to leave the company
Facebook has seen several top executives exit the company over the past few months. Fidji Simo, a 10-year veteran and the head of the Facebook app, left the company in July to join grocery delivery giant Instacart as the new CEO. Carolyn Everson, another 10-year veteran who was vice president of global marketing solutions at the social network giant and oversaw its advertising business, also departed Facebook to become the President at Instacart soon after. However, Mike Schroepfer is still the biggest name to leave Facebook in recent years. It’s unclear for how long Schroepfer will serve the company as a Senior Fellow. It’s also unclear whether he plans to take up a full-time role ever again. “I am honored to be able to continue to support Facebook’s exciting future in my role as Senior Fellow,” Schroepfer said. The new CTO Andrew Bosworth, meanwhile, will continue overseeing Facebook’s work in the hardware department, including AR and VR. This transition will also see a few other groups join Bosworth’s team, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed. Perhaps the company is planning to double down on its hardware efforts for future growth. “This is all foundational to our broader efforts helping to build the metaverse,” Zuckerberg said.
