Peter Thiel stepping down from Meta board

Peter Thiel, one of Facebook’s earliest board members, is stepping down from his board position at the platform’s parent company Meta. 

Meta announced Monday that Thiel, who was a member of the board of directors since 2005, would be stepping down. 

Thiel’s move comes as he turns his focus to influencing November’s midterm elections, a person familiar with his thinking told The New York Times.

Thiel has been a significant donor to Republican candidates. He’s put millions into the campaigns of two Republicans running in battleground states — Blake Masters in Arizona and J.D. Vance in Ohio. 

“It has been a privilege to work with one of the great entrepreneurs of our time. Mark Zuckerberg’s intelligence, energy, and conscientiousness are tremendous. His talents will serve Meta well as he leads the company into a new era,” Thiel said in a statement shared by the company. 

Zuckerberg called Thiel a “valuable member” of the board and said he is “deeply grateful for everything he has done for our company.” 

“Peter is truly an original thinker who you can bring your hardest problems and get unique suggestions. He has served on our board for almost two decades, and we’ve always known that at some point he would devote his time to other interests. I’m grateful he’s served on our board for as long as he has, and I wish him the best in his journey ahead,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.