Is Mark Zuckerberg’s Position as CEO at Facebook Under Threat?

A group of shareholders of the social networking giant is looking to bring in a new man to handle the business.

Mark Zuckerberg. (Photo: iStock)

It seems that a group of Facebook shareholders are unhappy with Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership, and they have devised a way to push him out.

This group want to remove Zuckerberg from the Board of Directors, seeking better functioning of the business, and giving other shareholders a fair chance to have a say in the decisions made.

According to Venture Beat, the shareholders have voiced their appeal via SumofUS, which calls itself as an online community group that works to fight against powerful corporates involved in issues like human rights and climate change.

Facebook has stayed silent on the matter and hopefully we’ll be hearing more on the subject during their annual shareholder briefing in April.

The report quotes a capital advisor at SumofUS, who claims that over 333,000 people have appealed for a change of FB’s corporate set up. However, the advisor goes on to say that out of the 333,000 petitions, 1,400 of those come from supposed shareholders at the social networking platform. The petition is live here.

The appeal itself is unlikely to raise alarm bells for Zuckerberg anytime soon, as he still holds the majority of shares at Facebook, giving him right to veto the move to remove him as CEO with a quick motion.

If It Ain't Broke, Why Fix It?

Traditionally, big brands like Apple, Google and Disney have operated with a single person as the CEO and founder. Steve Jobs at Apple comes to the top of our mind, although he was pushed out of the company he founded for several years. With Zuckerberg, things have been smooth till now, and the latest revenue numbers have surpassed Wall Street estimates.

For shareholders, money invested is all that matters, and Mark’s doing a decent job of that. So, even if the calls to remove him from the Board gather pace, that’s never going to happen with Facebook in a healthy financial position.

Facebook has built its space in the social arena via WhatsApp, Instagram and its own Live videos feature. It also has a strong foothold in virtual reality with recently appointed Hugo Barra to oversee changes and innovation at Oculus.