Meta hires Microsoft exec, former Trump deputy as chief legal officer
Meta said Tuesday that it hired former Microsoft legal executive Curtis Joseph Mahoney to become its chief legal officer.
Mahoney will replace Meta’s previous head lawyer Jennifer Newstead, who announced in December that she would be leaving Meta to become Apple’s general counsel in March.
He joins Meta at a time when the company is facing a wave of child-safety related lawsuits around the country. That includes an ongoing case in New Mexico in which the state’s attorney general alleged that Meta failed to protect children from sexual abuse and human trafficking on its apps like Facebook and Instagram.
“C.J. brings world-class legal expertise, passion for frontier technology, and deep insight into the global regulatory challenges facing our industry,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to working with him to advance Meta’s mission to build the future of human connection.”
FILE PHOTO: C.J. Mahoney, nominee to be legal advisor to the State Department, testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen Building on Tuesday, July 21, 2020.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Most recently, Mahoney was at Microsoft as a corporate vice president and general counsel for product, services and go-to-market legal. He was previously a deputy U.S. trade representative during President Donald Trump’s first stint in the White House.
He joined Microsoft in 2021 as deputy general counsel, focused on trade and the company’s Azure cloud business. Soon after joining, he represented Microsoft during a U.S. House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee hearing, talking about the company’s initiatives in Africa. In 2025, Mahoney became Microsoft’s general counsel, taking leadership of lawyers, paralegals and business professionals who work on engineering, sales and marketing.
“I’m excited to join Meta as it leads the way in AI innovation and continues to connect people around the world,” Mahoney said in a statement. “As I close an incredible chapter at Microsoft and begin a new one at Meta, I’m grateful for the trust Mark and the Board have placed in me.”
Microsoft declined to comment on succession planning after Mahoney’s departure.
Axios first reported on Meta’s new legal hire.
— CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed reporting.
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