Facebook Parent Meta Names DoorDash CEO Tony Xu as a Director

Kurt Wagner

13 Jan 2022, 05:17 PM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. named DoorDash Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tony Xu to its board, adding a technology-company founder with significant commerce experience to the group advising CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Xu’s appointment is effective immediately, according to a statement, bringing the number of Meta directors to 10. All existing board members will remain on the panel.

Meta has made commerce a business priority over the past two years, aiming to become a bigger force in online shopping as more and more transactions happen on the web. The company has built shopping features directly inside its apps in an effort to eliminate the need for consumers to leave Facebook or Instagram to make a purchase, and to increase sales opportunities for businesses. In some international markets, Meta also hopes users will turn to services like WhatsApp to buy physical goods from local retailers.

Commerce will also play a significant role in the metaverse, a virtual platform for immersive digital services that Menlo Park, California-based Meta is working to develop.

“Tony has built a great service for millions of people to get food and more from hundreds of thousands of restaurants and small businesses,” Zuckerberg, 37, said in a statement. “I’ve always thought it’s important to have great tech leaders on our board, and Tony has direct experience both running a tech company and solving complex challenges in commerce. I look forward to learning from his perspective as we build towards the metaverse.”

San Francisco-based DoorDash has become the most significant player for U.S. food delivery, an industry that has boomed during the pandemic. After a successful IPO in December 2020 -- the stock closed 86% higher than the listing price on the first day of trading -- DoorDash’s shares have declined about 14% over the past year.

“Millions of local merchants use Meta’s tools to grow and run their businesses every month,” Xu, 37, said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the board as the company enters the next stage of its journey.”