Chris Cox (Facebook)
| Chris Cox | |
|---|---|
 Chris Cox of Facebook | |
| Born |
1982 (age 33–34) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Education | Stanford University |
| Occupation | Chief Product Officer, Facebook |
| Spouse(s) | Visra Vichit-Vadakan (m. 2010) |
Christopher "Chris" Cox (born 1982) is Chief Product Officer at Facebook,[1] where he serves as chief of staff to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on product development[2] and leads the company's worldwide product management, design and marketing functions.
Education and early career
Cox received a bachelor's degree in symbolic systems with a concentration in artificial intelligence from Stanford University, which he attended from 2001 to 2004.[3] Cox dropped out of a graduate degree program at Stanford to join Facebook in 2005.[2] He started as a software engineer and worked on first versions of many key Facebook products, including News Feed. As a 25-year-old engineer, he was promoted to Director of Human Resources[4] and later to Vice President of Product[2][5] before becoming Chief Product Officer.[1] As of July 2016 he held approximately 391 thousand Facebook shares worth $45 million. [6]
Cox oversees hundreds of engineers, designers and product managers[7] responsible for new features and products. He helped build Facebook’s News Feed and still oversees the News Feed team.[1] His May 2014 promotion to Chief Product Officer “cements (him) as a leader of Facebook alongside COO Sheryl Sandberg.”[1] Cox gives a talk to all new recruits about Facebook’s mission, culture and philosophy.[5]
Reputation
Business Insider called Cox “a triple threat — an engineer who can build company-defining products, an operator who can recruit and manage good people, and a long-term strategic thinker.”[8] He is also known for his focus on bringing people and technology together. “Technology does not need to estrange us from one another,” Cox told Wired. “The physical reality comes alive with the human stories we have told there.”[9]
Philosophy
Cox envisions a future in which what your friends recommend on social networks plays a bigger role in what you buy, do, or watch on TV. He told The Wall Street Journal that he believes there will be a time “when you turn on the TV, and you see what your mom and friends are watching, and they can record stuff for you. Instead of 999 channels, you will see 999 recommendations from your friends."[2]
Personal life
Cox was born in Atlanta and raised in Winnetka, Illinois.[7] At an early age, he learned to play piano and to program computers.[7] He has played in New Trier's jazz band[7] and is considered a “remarkably talented keyboardist” in a reggae band.[1]
Late in 2010, Cox married his college sweetheart Visra Vichit-Vadakan, a trained biologist turned movie director[10] and granddaughter of Luang Wichitwathakan,[11] a Thai politician, historian, novelist and playwright.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Constine, Josh (2 May 2014). "Facebook Promotes VP Of Product Chris Cox To Chief Product Officer, But No Organizational Change". TechCrunch. TechCrunch. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 Fowler, Geoffrey A. (October 10, 2010). "Facebook's 'Social' Chief Pushes Human Interaction". Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ "Symbolic Systems » Christopher Cox". Stanford University.
- ↑ "Executive Bios". Facebook.
- 1 2 Guynn, Jessica (12 May 2012). "Facebook's Chris Cox: A very likable pitchman". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ↑ "Cox Christopher Insider Trading". InsiderMole.com. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Guynn, Jessica; Huston, John P. (17 May 2012). "Facebook's more likable face". Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ↑ Carlson, Nicholas (September 23, 2010). "If (When?) Yahoo Fires Carol Bartz, It Should Hire Facebook's Chris Cox". Business Insider.
- ↑ Singel, Ryan (October 8, 2010). "Silicon Valley Lacks Vision? Facebook Begs to Differ". Wired.com.
- ↑ Zuckerberg impressed with Thai culture The Nation December 30, 2010
- ↑ "Visra Vichit-Vadakan" (PDF). NYU.edu. New York University. Retrieved 11 June 2014.