Facebook, the global social networking behemoth, has hired away from the White House Marne Levine to head up their global policy team. Levine will handle Facebook’s interactions with both world governments and major non-governmental organizations.
At the White House Levine served as an economic advisor. She will be based in Washington and will oversee the raising of a formidable lobbying team for Facebook, while at the same time building teams that focus on local policy all around the globe.
Facebook understands that their future as the de facto social network of the world will open them to all sorts of legal challenges, threats, and problems. Having a team in place that is in tune with local politics will go a long way to smoothing over potential problems before they come to the main stage of international news.
The hiring of Levine underscores Facebook’s commitment to becoming a serious player in the Washington scene specifically. Coming from the White House, Levine will have a Rolodex filled with the people that she will need to work with to accomplish Facebook’s mission. Facebook is no longer a startup, and it is growing well into its role as a real company. Expect to see more high profile political hires in the coming months.
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