Despite the turmoil that continues to surround his company, Mark Zuckerberg has insisted he is still the best person to lead Facebook. When youre building something like Facebook which is unprecedented in the world, he said on Wednesday, there are things that youre going to mess up. What I think people should hold us accountable for is if we are learning from our mistakes. As well as being Facebooks chief executive, Mr Zuckerberg is chairman of the companys board. When asked if his position had been discussed, he replied: Not that I know of! The mere possibility that his leadership is in question is a scenario few would have predicted even a month ago. But recent reports around improper data gathering by third parties - as well as fake news and propaganda - have prompted some to question Mr Zuckerbergs ability to lead a company that some think has grown beyond his control. Scott Stringer, head of New York Citys pension fund, said this week that Mr Zuckerberg should step aside. The fund owns approximately $1bn-worth of the social network. They have two billion users, Mr Stringer told CNBC. They are in uncharted waters, and they have not comported themselves in a way that makes people feel good about Facebook and secure about their own data. He called for Mr Zuckerberg to step down in order to let Facebook start a reputation-enhancing second chapter. He doesn’t just lead an institution that touches almost every person on the planet, wrote Felix Salmon. He also, thanks to financial engineering, has a majority of shareholder votes and controls the board, and is therefore answerable to no one. By design, he can’t be fired - he can only resign. Which is exactly what he should now do. What we couldnt tell during the call, of course, was to what extent Mr Zuckerberg was being quietly guided by his team in the room. But for a man often criticised as lacking empathy, it was a strong display lasting almost an hour. Investors certainly thought so - shares were up 3% once the call ended. Next week he will face a potentially tougher prospect, this time in front of the cameras, when he heads to Washington to testify before Congress.
