Andrew Bosworth

Andrew Bosworth
Bosworth in 2024
Born (1982-01-07) January 7, 1982
Santa Clara County, California, U.S.
EducationHarvard University (BS)
OccupationBusiness executive
TitleCTO of Meta Platforms
Term2022–present
PredecessorMike Schroepfer
Children2
Military career
AllegianceUnited States
Branch
Service years2025–present
RankLieutenant Colonel
UnitDetachment 201

Andrew "Boz" Bosworth (born January 7, 1982) is an American business executive and U.S. Army Reserve officer who is Meta’s chief technology officer and Head of its Reality Labs division.

After graduating from Harvard University in 2004, he worked as a developer on Microsoft Visio for almost two years, then joined Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook in January 2006, where he helped create News Feed.[1]

In 2025, Bosworth was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the United States Army to advise Detachment 201.[2]

During Bosworth's tenure as Chief Technology Officer of Meta, the company's Reality Labs division has accumulated operating losses totaling approximately $63.59 billion.[3]

Early life and education

Bosworth was born and raised in Santa Clara County, California.[4] He grew up on a farm in Saratoga and was involved in agricultural endeavors with nonprofit 4-H as a child.[5][6] Bosworth attended Harvard University and met Mark Zuckerberg while working as a teaching assistant in an artificial intelligence class.[7] He graduated cum laude[8] from Harvard University in 2004.[9][10]

Career

Bosworth began his career working for Microsoft as a developer on Microsoft Visio. In 2006, Bosworth received a call from a recruiter looking for a candidate with a background in artificial intelligence. From this, he joined as one of the first 15 engineers at Facebook and developed the Facebook News Feed, which launched later that year and was quickly replicated across the social media industry.[11][7][12]

As Facebook’s engineering organization grew, Bosworth devised its bootcamp program for engineers joining the company and led the groups developing features including Groups, Messenger and Video Calling.[13]

In 2012 he led the company’s transition from desktop to mobile advertising and oversaw the creation of its mobile advertising products. By 2015 these products accounted for 78% of the company’s total revenue.[14]

Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer announced in August 2017 that Bosworth would be transitioning to the role of vice-president for augmented reality and virtual reality, and Mark Rabkin would assume Bosworth's responsibilities. In 2020 Bosworth renamed the AR/VR organization to Reality Labs, which leads the company’s work on its metaverse vision. Reality Labs went on to launch products including the Quest VR headset, Portal video calling device, and AI glasses in partnership with EssilorLuxottica brands Ray-Ban and Oakley.[15][16]

In 2021 Mark Zuckerberg announced that Bosworth would succeed Schroepfer as the company’s CTO while continuing to lead Reality Labs. Shortly after, Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be renamed Meta to reflect the company’s focus on its metaverse vision.[17]

In 2025 the U.S. Army announced that Bosworth, alongside three other senior technology executives, would join the Army Reserve to serve as in the newly formed Executive Innovation Corps, known as Detachment 201. As part of the new roles, all four were sworn in as Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonels. The Army said the Corps would work on “targeted projects to help guide rapid and scalable tech solutions to complex problems.”[18]

Memo controversy

On June 18, 2016, Bosworth wrote a memo circulated internally within Facebook titled "The Ugly", arguing that connecting people was a paramount goal for Facebook, and justified many of the company's practices. The memo also acknowledged that this could have negative consequences, such as the potential to be used by terrorist attacks coordinated via Facebook. The publication date of the memo was a day after the shooting and death of a Chicago man was recorded via Facebook Live. The memo generated strong, polarized reactions within the company. The memo was leaked to and reported on by BuzzFeed on March 29, 2018.[19][20][21]

In a statement given to BuzzFeed after publication of the story, Facebook CEO and principal founder Mark Zuckerberg said: "Boz is a talented leader who says many provocative things. This was one that most people at Facebook including myself disagreed with strongly. We've never believed the ends justify the means. We recognize that connecting people isn't enough by itself. We also need to work to bring people closer together. We changed our whole mission and company focus to reflect this last year."[19][20]

Responding to the publication of the memo by BuzzFeed, Bosworth wrote: "I don't agree with the post today and I didn't agree with it even when I wrote it. The purpose of this post, like many others I have written internally, was to bring to the surface issues I felt deserved more discussion with the broader company."[22]

Philanthropy

Bosworth is the vice chair on the board of directors for the Peninsula Open Space Trust.[23][24] He is additionally involved in his local community by being recognized as the 2019 keynote speaker for the Burlingame/SFO Chamber of Commerce.[25] Bosworth also participates in events as an alumnus of nonprofit 4-H, where he has previously received recognition such as the Distinguished Alumni Medallion award.[26]

Personal life

Bosworth is married to April Bosworth (née Wood).[27][28] They have two children.[29]

References

  1. ^ "Facebook 'ugly truth' growth memo haunts firm". March 30, 2018. Archived from the original on January 7, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Army Launches Detachment 201: Executive Innovation Corps to Drive Tech Transformation". www.army.mil. June 13, 2025. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  3. ^ "Meta's Reality Labs posts $4.53 billion loss in second quarter". www.cnbc.com. July 30, 2025. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  4. ^ "Who Are You and Why Should I Care?". boz.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  5. ^ Kavilanz, Parija (April 14, 2016). "Facebook's ad chief: Let's rethink STEM". CNN Tech. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  6. ^ "National 4‑H Council Announces Group of Prominent Alumni to Help Grow 4‑H". 4-H. March 21, 2017. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Guynn, Jessica (July 31, 2011). "Profile: Andrew Bosworth, Facebook social engineer". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^ Order of Exercises for Commencement. Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States: Harvard University. 2004.
  9. ^ Mattson, Sophie (December 9, 2011). "Alumnus Bosworth presents to Leadership students". Falcon Online. Saratoga High School. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  10. ^ Swift, Mike (February 5, 2012). "Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook: Focused from the beginning". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  11. ^ Hemepl, Jessi (September 6, 2016). "Everyone Hated News Feed. Then It Became Facebook's Most Important Product". Wired. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  12. ^ "Inside Facebook". Fortune. May 16, 2012. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  13. ^ "Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth". meta.com. Meta Labs, Inc. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  14. ^ Isaac, Mike (November 4, 2015). "Facebook Revenue Surges 41%, as Mobile Advertising and Users Keep Growing". New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  15. ^ "Introducing the New Facebook Reality Labs". meta.com. Meta. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  16. ^ "EssilorLuxottica and Meta Announce Long Term Partnership, Shaping the Future of the Smart Eyewear Category" (Press release). EssilorLuxottica. September 17, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  17. ^ "A Note From Mark Zuckerberg". meta.com. Meta. September 22, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
  18. ^ "Why The U.S. Army Made Four Tech Executives Lieutenant Colonels". NPR. July 3, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  19. ^ a b Mac, Ryan; Warzel, Charlie; Kantrowitz, Alex (March 29, 2018). "Top Facebook Executive Defended Data Collection In 2016 Memo — And Warned That Facebook Could Get People Killed. Facebook Vice President Andrew "Boz" Bosworth said that "questionable contact importing practices," "subtle language that helps people stay searchable," and other growth techniques are justified by the company's connecting of people". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  20. ^ a b Selk, Avi (March 30, 2018). "'Maybe someone dies': Facebook VP justified bullying, terrorism as costs of network's 'growth'". Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  21. ^ "Facebook wishes it could 'hit delete' on the notorious Andrew Bosworth memo justifying growth at all costs". businessinsider.com. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  22. ^ Morse, Jack (March 29, 2018). "Facebook VP Andrew Bosworth frantically takes to Twitter following leaked memo". Mashable. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  23. ^ "POST Staff & Board". Peninsula Open Space Trust. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  24. ^ "Facebook exec joins open space trust". The Almanac. August 13, 2013. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  25. ^ "Burlingame/SFO Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting". Burlingame Chamber of Commerce. January 1, 2019. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  26. ^ "Celebrating the life-changing impact of 4-H". Dairy Business. March 22, 2018. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  27. ^ Chandler, Elizabeth Khuri. "Edge of Tomorrow". C Magazine. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  28. ^ Christy, Kelcy. "April Wood & Andrew Bosworth". Inside Weddings. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  29. ^ Titcomb, James (September 26, 2021). "Facebook aims to take a bite out of Apple's iPhone". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved March 22, 2025.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.