Meta Taps Dina Powell McCormick for Top Job as It Pushes Deeper Into AI

CNBC, Axio, NBC News, the Hill, and Forbes contributed to this report.

Meta is bringing in a heavy hitter with deep Wall Street and Washington ties.

The company announced Monday that Dina Powell McCormick, a former Trump administration adviser and longtime banking executive, will step into the role of president and vice chair. She’ll report directly to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and join Meta’s top management team, helping steer the company’s strategy and execution at a critical moment.

Powell McCormick is no stranger to Meta. She joined the company’s board last April but stepped down in December. Now she’s back — this time in a full-time leadership role — as Meta ramps up massive investments in artificial intelligence, infrastructure and global partnerships.

“Dina’s experience at the highest levels of global finance, combined with her deep relationships around the world, makes her uniquely suited to help Meta manage this next phase of growth,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.

Powell McCormick brings a résumé that spans politics, finance and diplomacy. She served as deputy national security adviser during Donald Trump’s first term and previously held senior roles at the State Department under President George W. Bush. Before and after government service, she spent 16 years in senior leadership at Goldman Sachs and most recently worked as an executive at merchant bank BDT & MSD Partners.

At Meta, she’ll focus heavily on AI and infrastructure, including working with governments and sovereign investors to help fund and deploy the company’s multibillion-dollar buildout. Meta said she will also help forge new strategic capital partnerships and find ways to expand the company’s long-term investment capacity.

Industry leaders quickly applauded the move. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called Powell McCormick “an exceptional banker with superb relationships,” adding that she’s respected globally for her ability to execute complex deals.

Trump himself weighed in enthusiastically, congratulating Powell McCormick on Truth Social and calling her a “fantastic, and very talented, person” who served his administration “with strength and distinction.”

Her appointment marks the second recent hire Meta has made from Trump’s orbit. Earlier this month, the company named Curtis Mahoney — a former deputy US trade representative during Trump’s first term — as its new chief legal officer.

The move also underscores Meta’s broader shift in tone and priorities. Once defined mainly by its advertising business and battles with regulators, the company is now betting big on frontier AI and computing power. Meta has committed tens of billions of dollars to capital spending and is trying to reassert itself in a fiercely competitive AI race.

Notably, Powell McCormick doesn’t come from an advertising background — a sign of where Meta believes its future growth lies.

Powell McCormick is married to Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican from Pennsylvania, further reinforcing her ties across business and politics. Her former firm, BDT & MSD Partners, has also been linked to high-profile tech deal rumors, including past speculation around TikTok.

For Meta, the hire signals a new phase: less focus on defending legacy platforms, more emphasis on building global infrastructure, courting capital and shaping policy around AI.

As Zuckerberg pushes Meta toward what he calls the next era of computing, Powell McCormick is now positioned to help make sure the money, politics and partnerships line up.