When President Bill Clinton was working through his second term and had to deal with that whole pesky Monica Lewinsky scandal it was then Press Secretary Joe Lockhart who handled questions from media outlets and now he has headed in a new direction, announcing his employment with social network Facebook.
Lockhart has agreed to join the internet firm as their vice president of global communication where he will manage corporate, policy and international communications while reporting back to Elliot Schrage, the company’s vice president of global communications, marketing and public policy.
The move to hire a Washington insiders has been suspected for months as Facebook nears ever closer to their initial public offering (IPO) which could happen as early as this fall and which is expected to valuate the company upwards of $100 billion. That IPO will require Facebook to properly manage their image which has been battered by various privacy policy stumbles and fights with many world governments including China and the UK.
The move also comes at a time when Google was found attempting to spread negative stories about the social network, albeit the stories were true.
Lockhart’s deep connections to Washington was viewed as a positive aspect of his job history for the company as they continue to lobby for the right to maintain their own policies which align with advertiser requirements and system growth.
The announcement comes months after another White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs turned down a similar job offer.
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