Mark Zuckerberg just poached Obama's former campaign manager to deepen his charity's DC ties
AP/ Ross D. Franklin
Mark Zuckerberg has poached former Obama campaign manager and Uber board member David Plouffe to be his philanthropic organization's president of policy and advocacy, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
Plouffe's hiring is intended to help deepen ties between Washington and The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the company Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan created n 2015 to give away the majority of their wealth.
Along with hiring Plouffe, who will remain on Uber's board, Zuckerberg told The Times that his organization is forming a public policy board that will be led by Kenneth Mehlman, the manager of President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.
"You can make change, but in order for it to be sustainable, you need to build a movement to support it," Zuckerberg said in an interview with Mike Isaac of The New York Times. "No amount of private research or philanthropy is going to shift that. At the end of the day, the government has far more resources than any individual organization does."
In a statement sent to Business Insider, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said that Plouffe will continue to play a "key part" in the company.
"Three years ago, I was looking for someone to help guide Uber's strategy as we launched in more cities around the globe," Kalanick said. "David impressed me with his storytelling skills, his ability to connect with people on a human level, and his incredible passion for Uber and our mission. I'm excited that he'll bring that passion to the world-changing efforts underway at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and that he will remain a key part of our family as an Uber board member, an advocate for our company, and an advisor to me."
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