Meta Ireland boss Gareth Lambe is stepping down next year

6 Dec 2021

Gareth Lambe. Image: Meta

Lambe has served as the social media company’s head of office for Ireland since May 2015.

Head of Meta Ireland Gareth Lambe has announced his decision to leave the company after more than 10 years.

He plans to exit in the second quarter of 2022, allowing time for the company to find his successor as head of office for Ireland.

Lambe has been in this position for more than six years and is also vice-president of international business planning and operations for the social media company.

He has been in various positions since joining Facebook, now known as Meta, in 2011. Previous roles included director of sales planning and operations for EMEA and director of advertising operations for EMEA.

He also is the president of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland for 2021 and has been a board member since September 2016.

‘The scaling and growth has of course been a highlight, but what I will most miss is the culture and the people’
– GARETH LAMBE

Meta has grown in Ireland from 300 employees in 2011 to more than 3,000, with operations that employ an additional 6,000 people supporting Meta’s services in Ireland. Lambe said it was a personal and professional “experience of a lifetime” working with the company during this time.

“The scaling and growth has of course been a highlight, but what I will most miss is the culture and the people,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post this morning (6 December).

“Here in Ireland we have incredibly talented and passionate people working across the family of apps in sales, infrastructure, safety, finance, VR/AR research and more than 50 other teams. With 120 nationalities, Meta Ireland is bursting with diverse talent.”

During Lambe’s time with Meta, the company has expanded its Irish presence from an office in Grand Canal Square to include the Clonee data centre in Meath, Facebook Reality Labs in Cork and a 14-acre campus in Ballsbridge, which is expected to open up further capacity for staff in Ireland when complete.

Lambe said he is looking forward to observing the company’s “strategic pivot” to the metaverse and witnessing the evolution of the Ballsbridge campus “into a state-of-the-art collaborative environment”.

He plans to transition out of his responsibilities with the company between now and early 2022 while a replacement is found.

“I have no plans other than to take time off after an incredible 10 years. Thanks to all my friends and colleagues for your support and friendship through this journey.”

A Meta spokesperson said: “We are grateful for the tremendous contribution Gareth has made to Meta over the past 10 years, and we wish him the very best in his next role.”

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Leigh Mc Gowran is a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com