Meta has named Alex Schultz as its first Chief Data Officer. In the role, he will lead the company’s transition to AI-led analytics and research, overseeing analytics, data science, data engineering, competitive intelligence, and user research while helping place data at the center of Meta’s strategy.

Prior to his appointment, Schultz served as Meta’s Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Analytics, leading the company’s global marketing organization while overseeing product analytics, global experience, insights, and creative. Since joining Meta in 2007, he has held several leadership roles, including building the company’s data science and data engineering teams and helping drive the growth of Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. He also led Meta’s global rebrand from Facebook in 2021.

Reflecting on his new role in a LinkedIn post, Schultz said, “My focus in this new role will be helping transform how Meta learns and makes decisions in the AI era. That starts with building better data foundations, but extends all the way through AI-powered analytics, experimentation, research and decision-making. We’ve already made exciting progress—from Analytics Agent, now the most widely used AI agent inside Meta, to foundational work modernizing our analytics infrastructure—but I believe we’re only at the beginning of what’s possible.”

Schultz holds a Master of Science in Natural Sciences from Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, specializing in experimental and theoretical physics. He is also the author of Click Here: The Art and Science of Digital Marketing and Advertising.