Rick Kelley. Image: Meta
‘It’s an exciting time for Meta as we are on the journey to build the metaverse,’ said Boston native Rick Kelley following his appointment.
Meta has appointed Rick Kelley as its new head of operations in Ireland. He will take over from outgoing Irish Meta boss Gareth Lambe, who held the top job for 10 years.
Kelley will step into his new role on 4 April. As well as becoming head of Meta in Ireland, he will hold on to his current position as the company’s global vice-president of gaming and app monetisation.
In that role, he leads a division that works with game developers to bring their games to people who use Facebook products through marketing and advertising. He has teams based in Dublin and regions around the world including the Americas, EMEA and APAC.
Originally from Boston, Kelley now lives in Dublin with his family. He joined Facebook (as it was then known) in 2009 when the global team had less than 1,000 staff.
He led Facebook’s EMEA mid-market sales team based in Dublin, expanding the company’s advertising efforts into emerging brands, ad agencies and large direct response advertisers.
Prior to joining the social media giant, he spent seven years establishing and leading similar teams for Yahoo in the US and Spain. He is also an active investor, board member and adviser for numerous start-ups.
“I’m dedicated to ensuring a long and prosperous future for Meta in Ireland, its employees and the communities it serves,” Kelley said about his appointment.
“It’s an exciting time for Meta as we are on the journey to build the metaverse and I’m excited and inspired by the prospect of leading Meta Ireland through the next chapter of its evolution.”
The company is currently focusing on its vision for the metaverse, exploring AR and VR opportunities and diving into AI research. However, this move has not been without its challenges and the tech giant recently had to take precautionary measures after allegations of groping and harassment in its VR spaces.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
