Meta AI Buildout takes a major leap forward as the company appoints Dina Powell McCormick, a former top adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, as president and vice chairman.
In her new role, Powell McCormick will help Meta manage strategic partnerships with governments and investors, ensuring robust funding for the company’s rapidly expanding AI infrastructure.
Reporting directly to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Powell McCormick joins a senior executive team dedicated to overseeing Meta’s sprawling data center projects and the hundreds of billions planned for AI-related investments. Her focus will be on government engagement and sovereign partnerships, positioning Meta to secure critical support for its ambitious AI ambitions.
Meta has been aggressively building AI infrastructure through its Meta Compute initiative, a coordinated effort to manage the company’s global data center fleet, supplier collaborations, and business modeling for AI capacity expansion.
Santosh Janardhan, Meta’s head of infrastructure, will continue to oversee technical operations, while Daniel Gross leads a newly formed group handling capital strategy, supplier partnerships, and modeling of AI projects. Both report to Zuckerberg alongside Powell McCormick.
Powell McCormick brings decades of finance experience, including 16 years at Goldman Sachs leading global sovereign investment banking. She was most recently president and head of global client services at BDT & MSD Partners, where she will remain on the advisory board. Her background in finance and government uniquely positions her to support Meta’s complex infrastructure financing and strategic partnerships.
Meta’s AI infrastructure push includes gigawatt-scale data centers, such as the massive project in rural Louisiana, which is expected to reach 5 gigawatts in capacity, a size Zuckerberg has compared to Manhattan. These facilities are crucial to Meta’s long-term goal of achieving “superintelligence,” AI systems capable of surpassing human-level reasoning across multiple domains.
To meet these energy-intensive ambitions, Meta has forged partnerships with energy companies, including agreements to become one of the largest corporate buyers of nuclear power. These arrangements will help supply the enormous electricity demands of AI compute while ensuring long-term sustainability.
The appointment of Powell McCormick underscores Meta’s strategy to couple technical expansion with financial and political expertise. Her ties to the Trump administration and government networks could accelerate approvals, funding, and partnerships critical to large-scale infrastructure projects.
Meta is racing against other technology giants, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Oracle, and Elon Musk’s xAI, all of which are investing heavily in AI infrastructure and data center expansion. Strategic leadership appointments like Powell McCormick aim to ensure Meta remains competitive in this capital-intensive race.
While investing heavily in AI, Meta is also streamlining other areas. The company recently announced a 10% reduction in its Reality Labs division, reallocating resources from certain virtual reality products to AI and related technologies. This reflects a broader shift toward prioritizing AI infrastructure over other experimental initiatives.
The combination of deep financial expertise, government relations, and technical leadership positions Meta to scale its AI buildout efficiently. Powell McCormick’s role is expected to enhance the company’s ability to execute large-scale projects, secure financing, and maintain key strategic relationships in both public and private sectors.
As Meta expands its AI infrastructure, the company continues to emphasize energy strategy, capital partnerships, and technological innovation as pillars of growth. Powell McCormick’s leadership marks a critical step in aligning these objectives with execution and global outreach.
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