PALO ALTO, Calif. — December 11, 2008 — Facebook® today announced that Donald E. Graham, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO), has agreed to join its board of directors next month.
“Don Graham understands how to build and manage an organization for the long term,” explained Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook. “He has made The Washington Post Company one of the most valued and respected education and media companies while making society more open and understanding. What I most admire about Don is his commitment to build around this purpose – and not just a business. His decision to join our board means that Facebook will benefit from this insight and experience.”
“Facebook has completely transformed how people interact by providing a compelling forum where millions and millions of people can connect and share,” said Graham. “Mark’s sense of what Facebook can do is quite remarkable.”
Graham joined The Washington Post newspaper in 1971 as a reporter and subsequently held several news and business positions at the newspaper and at Newsweek magazine. He was named executive vice president and general manager of the newspaper in 1976. He served as publisher from 1979 to 2000. He was elected a director of The Washington Post Company in 1974. He served as president from May 1991 to September 1993 and has been CEO since 1991. He was elected chairman of the board in 2000.
Graham joins Mark Zuckerberg on the Facebook board along with Marc Andreessen of Ning, Jim Breyer of Accel Partners and Peter Thiel of Clarium Capital and Founders Fund.