UFC President and CEO Dana White is one in every of three new appointments to the Meta (NASDAQ: META) board of administrators, marking the primary time the UFC boss has joined a company board.
UFC CEO Dana White is becoming a member of the board of Fb mum or dad Meta. (Picture: MMA Preventing)
White, extensively seen because the architect of UFC’s development and some of the influential figures in sports activities, joins John Elkann and Charlie Songhurst as the brand new appointees to the social media large’s board.
I’ve by no means been concerned with becoming a member of a board of administrators till I bought the supply to hitch Meta’s board. I’m an enormous believer that social media and synthetic intelligence (AI) are the long run,” mentioned White in a press launch. “I’m very excited to hitch this unimaginable workforce and to be taught extra about this enterprise from the within. There’s nothing I really like greater than constructing manufacturers, and I look ahead to serving to take Meta to the subsequent stage.”
Based by Mark Zuckerberg, California-based Meta is the mum or dad firm of Fb, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
White Appointment Alerts New Route for Meta
The appointment of White to the Meta board was introduced simply days after the social media firm introduced the promotion of Joel Kaplan to president of world affairs. Kaplan held numerous positions in President George W. Bush’s administration earlier than becoming a member of Meta in 2011.
Kaplan has deep ties to the Republican celebration and White is a private good friend of President-elect Trump. The UFC CEO spoke on the Republican Nationwide Conference final yr and in 2020, and has been a longtime donor to Trump.
Political pundits have speculated that the promotion of Kaplan together with the addition of White to the board alerts that Zuckerberg is keen to work with the incoming Trump administration and that he needs to place the corporate’s status for left-leaning bias behind it.
“Below White’s management, UFC has grow to be a world sport powerhouse, producing greater than 40 reside occasions yearly in a number of the most prestigious arenas all over the world, whereas broadcasting to over 975 million households throughout greater than 170 nations. Over the course of his profession, White has obtained quite a few trade and enterprise accolades for his affect and affect in sports activities,” in accordance with the Meta assertion.
White’s Gaming Ties Run Deep
In Las Vegas circles, White isn’t simply referred to as the UFC boss. He’s also referred to as a big-time bettor who’s been barred from many casinos within the metropolis. White has a proclivity for making six-figure bets and sometimes leaving a on line casino after profitable two or three consecutive arms, typically with seven-figure paydays.
Caesars Leisure and Purple Rock Resorts nonetheless settle for White’s enterprise though he claimed he “clipped” Caesars Palace on the Strip for $26 million or $27 million in early 2024.
Talking of Purple Rock, that firm is managed by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, who have been early UFC Traders. They’re additionally Trump donors.
