Who is Dina Powell McCormick? Trump’s former adviser takes top role at Meta

Dina Powell McCormick is Meta’s newly appointed President and Vice Chair, a role that puts her at the centre of the company’s push into artificial intelligence and global infrastructure.She reports directly to chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and will help guide Meta’s strategy, especially its work with governments and large investors. Zuckerberg said she will focus on partnering with governments and sovereign funds to help build and finance Meta’s AI projects.McCormick has spent much of her career in both finance and government. She worked at Goldman Sachs for 16 years, rising to partner and later running the bank’s sovereign business, where she dealt closely with government-backed funds, particularly in the Middle East. She left Goldman in 2023 to join a private investment firm.Before Wall Street, she built strong ties in Washington. She was born in Egypt and worked in various US government roles for more than a decade, and later served as deputy national security adviser for strategy during Donald Trump’s presidency.Trump welcomed her appointment and posted online on Truth Social: “A great choice by Mark Z!!! She is a fantastic, and very talented, person, who served the Trump Administration with strength and distinction!”Her move comes as Meta spends most of its income on AI, data centres and energy supply. The company is building a $27 billion data centre in Louisiana and has signed deals linked to nuclear power to support its growing computing needs. Powell McCormick’s background is seen as useful as Meta works more closely with governments and regulators.She is also tied to US politics through her husband, David McCormick, a Republican who won a Pennsylvania Senate seat in 2024. He previously served as a senior Treasury official under President George W Bush.Powell McCormick joined Meta’s board last year and stepped down in December ahead of taking on her new executive role. Her appointment comes at a time when investors are uneasy about Meta’s rising spending on AI and slow returns, with the company’s share price under pressure.