Meta infrastructure chief will leave in the new year; AWS veteran David Brown to lead data centers

The move and the handoff

In an internal memo on Wednesday, Santosh Janardhan said "it's time to pass the baton" and announced he will depart in the new year, according to a note obtained by CNBC. He also noted he'll support David Brown through the end of the first quarter of 2027 to aid "the transition."

Janardhan wrote, "As we make the next set of choices about our priorities, this is the right time for Dave to take the lead in shaping that work." He praised Brown's background, saying he "has spent his career building and operating dependable infrastructure for a wide range of demanding workloads" and has "the instincts, depth and judgment this moment requires."

Bloomberg News first reported the leadership transition.

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Who is taking the reins

Brown previously served as a senior vice president at AWS and arrived at Meta in July. He will take formal charge of Meta's infrastructure and will serve as chief technical officer for Meta Compute, a program led by Dina Powell McCormick in her role as president and vice chairman alongside technical leader Daniel Gross.

The change fits with CEO Mark Zuckerberg's push to expand Meta's data center footprint under newer leaders as investors pay closer attention to capital spending at the social media company and other hyperscalers. The buildout is central to supporting Meta's AI ambitions.

Why investors are watching

In its latest third-quarter release, Meta projected full-year capital expenditures of $135 billion to $145 billion and recorded free cash flow of negative $2.12 billion. S&P Global Ratings highlighted that cash flow figure when it revised Meta's credit rating in late October from AA- stable to AA- negative.

The bottom line: who directs the data center build and how much it costs are now squarely in Brown's court, with Janardhan advising through early 2027. Leadership clarity on infrastructure, spend, and timing is the tell for how Meta funds and executes its AI roadmap from here.

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