Meta appoints Alex Schultz as first Chief Data Officer to lead AI analytics transformation

Meta names Alex Schultz first-ever chief data officer

Why it matters: The changes reflect how critical analytics and data infrastructure are to Meta's AI ambitions. * The company is bringing analytics directly to its executive leadership as opposed to treating it like a support function underneath a different C-suite executive. Zoom in: In his new role, Schultz will be tasked with transforming how the company manages AI analytics across the company globally. * As part of that effort, he will continue managing the company's infrastructure analytics teams. * Schultz said his responsibilities have expanded over the past several years to include analytics, in addition to marketing. * He now oversees user research, competitive intelligence and reporting insights to Meta's board. Between the lines: Moreno has been leading Meta's in-product promotions for years. Most recently, she helped the company grow Threads to over 500 million users. * Her top task as marketing chief will be making Meta's products and apps successful. * Both Schultz and Moreno will report to Meta chief operating officer Javier Olivan. Moreno will join Schultz on CEO Mark Zuckerberg's leadership team. What's next: In an interview, Schultz said the "context layer" of Meta's AI system -- or the organizational knowledge that gives AI models the ability to reason accurately -- will be key to building's Meta's data analytics infrastructure.

Meta names Alex Schultz first chief data officer

July 1 (Reuters) - Meta said on Wednesday its chief marketing officer Alex Schultz will become the company's first chief data officer, to better manage AI analytics globally. The Facebook-parent also promoted its vice president of consumer marketing and growth, Denise Moreno, to marketing chief. o "My focus in this new role will be helping transform how Meta learns and makes decisions in the AI era," Schultz said in a LinkedIn post. o The leadership changes signal at Meta's move to deepen its focus on data-driven decision-making and AI integration across its operations. o Schultz joined the company in 2007 and held responsibilities across various domains like developing Meta's brand strategy and WhatsApp privacy campaigns, according to his LinkedIn page. o Shares of Meta were up 10% after Bloomberg News reported earlier on Wednesday that the company is building a cloud business to sell excess AI computing capacity. o A 17-year veteran at Meta, Moreno began her career managing email marketing and growth experiments, she said in a separate post. o Axios first reported about Meta naming Schultz as its chief data officer and elevating Moreno as CMO. o Meta is projected to spend as much as $145 billion on AI infrastructure this year, a significant portion of Big Tech's more than $700 billion outlay on the technology. (Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)