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Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer to step down next year

Longtime Facebook executive Mike Schroepfer will step down from his position as CTO in 2022.

Donovan Erskine

September 22, 2021 3:25 PM

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Facebook is one of the most influential companies in the world, and has also been one of the most scrutinized for issues surrounding user privacy. Recently, we’ve seen the company make strides into cracking the VR and AR markets, with an acquisition of Oculus and partnership with Ray Ban. However, Mike Schroepfer, the company’s CTO and executive that oversees its AI and VR business, has announced that he'll be stepping down from the role next year.

It was announced that Mike Schroepfer would be stepping down from his position at Facebook in an internal message sent to employees by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, which was obtained by Bloomberg. Schroepfer won’t be entirely away from the company, as he will be taking on a “Senior Fellow” role, which will entail advising the company and helping to recruit new talent. “This new position will also create more space for me to dedicate time to my family and my personal philanthropic efforts while staying deeply connected to the company,” Schroepfer said in a message to employees.

Mike Schroepfer isn’t the only notable Facebook executive to leave the company in recent memory. Just this July, former head of the Facebook App Fidji Simo left the company to take the position of CEO at Instacart. It’s also interesting to note that Schroepfer led Facebook’s artificial intelligence and augmented reality businesses, which have drawn the ire of many as of late. Facebook’s Ray Ban Stories, a pair of glasses that features two cameras, have been criticized for promoting an invasion of privacy.

Mike Schroepfer is stepping down as Facebook’s CTO in 2022 and will be replaced by Andrew Bosworth, who has been with the company for many years and has a long history with Mark Zuckerberg. For more on the latest business moves happening at Facebook, stick with us here at Shacknews.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_