Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Appoints Vishal Shah to Lead AI Product Management Amid Major Restructuring

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a private meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi in March 2025 to seek advice on communicating Meta's concerns to President Donald Trump, shortly before the FTC's antitrust case against Meta proceeded to trial. The antitrust lawsuit, which could force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, remains unresolved and reflects ongoing scrutiny of Meta's market dominance. Meanwhile, Meta is undergoing a strategic shift from its metaverse ambitions to focus heavily on artificial intelligence, appointing Vishal Shah, former Vice President of Metaverse and former Instagram product lead, to head AI product management. Shah’s appointment follows recent layoffs in Meta's AI division and signals trust from Zuckerberg to lead the company's AI initiatives amid increasing competition from Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic. Leadership changes also involve Gabe Aul taking over metaverse responsibilities and Ryan Cairns reporting directly to the CTO, highlighting a restructuring to balance metaverse and AI priorities. Overall, Meta is repositioning its leadership and strategy to enhance its AI capabilities while navigating legal challenges and evolving tech trends.