Zuckerberg emphasised that he was still the best person to lead Facebook although he acknowledged that mistakes were made.
Mark Zuckerberg is talking to journalists again. In his fourth big conversation with media after the Cambridge Analytica scandal Facebook hard last month, Zuckerberg emphasised that he was still the best person to lead Facebook although he acknowledged that mistakes were made.
At one point during the media conference, conducted through phone, Zuckerberg was specifically asked if he was the right person to lead Facebook. His answer was also very specific and emphatic yes.
„Yes,“ he said, „I think life is about learning from the mistakes and figuring out what you need to do to move forward when you’re building something like Facebook that is unprecedented in the world, there are going to be things that you mess up.“
The question came up because of late, with the Russian meddling in the US elections that surfaced in 2016 and now with Cambridge Analytica scandal, there are questions whether Zuckerberg is the right person to lead arguably the most powerful technology company in the world. Compared to most of the other CEOs in the Fortune 500 companies Zuckerberg is very young at 33. He has also made a few controversial statements in the last couple of years, downplaying the concerns over privacy and fake news.
After the Cambridge Analytica scandal hit the news, Facebook has seen its share price slide sharply. The company has also faced fresh scrutiny from regulators across the world, with Zuckerberg being called to testify before lawmakers in the US and the UK. On Wednesday, the US lawmakers confirmed that Zuckerberg will be testifying before them on April 11 in a bid to explain Facebook privacy and data policies.
During the tele-conference with media on Wednesday night, Zuckerberg also revealed that he has not faced any calls from the board to step down. „Not that I am aware of,“ he said when asked if there have been any calls for him to move out of Facebook CEO office.
At the same time, Zuckerberg clarified that everything that has happened with Cambridge Analytica was his responsibility and that the company has not fired anyone because of it. „I started this place, I run it, I am responsible for what happened here I am going to do the best job going forward, but I’m not looking to throw anyone else under the bus for mistakes that we’ve made here.“
Of late many people have argued that Zuckerberg might be the Facebook founder but he is not the right person to lead the company in these times, when it is facing challenge from government regulators and pressure from users to do something about the privacy and data security. Many point out to the case of Google, where the co-founders Larry Pie and Sergei Brin had hired Eric Schmidt in the early 2000 to run the company, while they took the backseat and focussed on products. Although Zuckerberg too has Sheryl Sandberg, who is company’s chief operating officer looking after the daily operations, he continues to be the CEO of the firm. And from his answer on Wednesday, it seems he will remain there in the same role for some time.
