Facebook has appointed the former chief financial officer (CFO) of a biotech firm to lead the social-networking player as it continues to develop its business model.
David Ebersman, the former executive vice-president and CFO of Genentech, the pioneering biotechnology firm recently acquired by Roche, will become the company’s chief financial officer.
Ebersman will report to Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg. He will oversee Facebook’s finance, accounting, investor relations and real-estate functions.
He also becomes a part of the company’s executive management team, which directs all aspects of company strategy, planning and operations. Ebersman will formally start in September 2009.
“We received a lot of interest in the CFO position and had the opportunity to meet with many impressive candidates,” said Zuckerberg.
“We quickly recognised that David was the right person for Facebook. He was Genentech’s CFO while revenue tripled, and his success in scaling the finance organisation of a fast-growing company will be important to Facebook.”
Ebersman worked at Genentech for nearly 15 years. He served as the firm’s executive vice-president and CFO from 2006 through April 2009, when Roche Group acquired the company. He joined Genentech as a business development analyst. Previously, he was a research analyst at Oppenheimer & Company Inc.
“After meeting with Mark and the rest of the team, I was thoroughly impressed with everyone’s drive and sense of purpose to help people connect and share,” noted Ebersman.
“Mark is constantly pushing the company forward, and he’s assembled a world-class team that is achieving remarkable results both for its users and as a business. I’m excited to join this effort and this new industry.
By John Kennedy
