Facebook owner Meta has appointed its new Irish chief, as outgoing head Gareth Lambe steps down.
Rick Kelley, who is Meta's current global vice-president of the gaming and app monetisation solutions organisation in Meta, is stepping into the role from April 4th. He will continue to hold his previous role in addition to taking on responsibility for Meta Ireland.
Originally from Boston, Mr Kelley joined Facebook in 2009 and lives in Dublin with his wife and two sons. Prior to joining the company, he spent seven years with Yahoo.
“I’m dedicated to ensuring a long and prosperous future for Meta in Ireland, its employees and the communities it serves,” he said. “It’s an exciting time for Meta as we are on the journey to build the metaverse and I’m excited and inspired by the prospect of leading Meta Ireland through the next chapter of its evolution.”
Hunt
Meta announced in December last year it would start the hunt for Mr Lambe’s replacement, with a view to appointing someone early in the year.
Mr Lambe has been with Facebook, which rebranded as Meta last year, for a decade. He is currently vice-president for international business planning and operations, and head of office for Meta Ireland.
In the past decade the company’s Irish operations have grown from 300 to more than 3,000 employees, with an additional 6,000 people supporting Meta’s services in Ireland.
Meta has offices in Grand Canal Square, Facebook Reality Labs in Cork, the Clonee data centre and the campus in Ballsbridge.
