paidContent - Industry Moves: Facebook Appoints Biotechnology Executive As New CFO
This story was written by Joseph Tartakoff.
In its search for a new CFO, Facebook mentioned only one criteria: public-company experience. And on Monday it announced it had hired an executive who matched that profile in a big way. The company named David Ebersman, the former CFO of publicly traded biotech giant Genentech, as CFO. Ebersman held the top finance job at Genentech until April, when the company was sold to Roche in a $46.8 billion deal. At Facebook, he replaces Gideon Yu, who left the company in late March.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Ebersman stood out as a candidate due to his experience in “scaling the finance organization of a fast growing company” Genentech’s revenue tripled during Ebersman’s three years as CFO, reaching $11.7 billion in 2008. Facebook’s revenue pales in comparison: According to one forecast, the social network is expected to bring in about $230 million in advertising revenue this year. Zuckerberg has said that the company’s revenue is on track for a 70 percent jump this year.
Yu’s sudden departure raised questions about Facebook’s financial health, although in May the company received a $200 million investment from Russian investor group Digital Sky Technologies, which Facebook said would provide it with a “cushion.” At the time, Zuckerberg also said that an IPO was not imminent. We view this as one milestone along the way, he said. Its not something we are really rushing towards. We dont see it as being on the immediate horizon.
Full release below:
PALO ALTO, Calif., June 29 /PRNewswire/—Facebook today announced that David Ebersman, the former executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of Genentech, the pioneering biotechnology firm recently acquired by Roche, will become the company’s chief financial officer.
Ebersman will report to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder Mark Zuckerberg. He will oversee Facebook’s finance, accounting, investor relations, and real estate functions. He also becomes a part of the company’s executive management team, which directs all aspects of company strategy, planning and operations. Ebersman will formally start in September 2009.
“We received a lot of interest in the CFO position and had the opportunity to meet with many impressive candidates,” said Mark Zuckerberg. “We quickly recognized that David was the right person for Facebook. He was Genentech’s CFO while revenue tripled, and his success in scaling the finance organization of a fast growing company will be important to Facebook.”
“After meeting with Mark and the rest of the team, I was thoroughly impressed with everyone’s drive and sense of purpose to help people connect and share,” noted Ebersman. “Mark is constantly pushing the company forward and he’s assembled a world-class team that is achieving remarkable results both for its users and as a business. I’m excited to join this effort and this new industry.”
Ebersman worked at Genentech for nearly 15 years. He served as the firm’s executive vice president and CFO from 2006 through April 2009, when Roche Group acquired the company. Prior to joining the company’s finance organization, he was senior vice president of Product Operations. He joined Genentech as a business development analyst. Previously, he was a research analyst at Oppenheimer & Company Inc.
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By Joseph Tartakoff