Facebook parent company Meta added new members to its board Monday: UFC CEO Dana White as well as Italian industrialist John Elkann and technology investor Charlie Songhurst.

“Dana, John and Charlie will add a depth of expertise and perspective that will help us tackle the massive opportunities ahead with AI, wearables and the future of human connection,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a release.

Mr. White is a strong believer in free speech and a longtime ally of President-elect Donald Trump. The United Fighting Championship boss appeared on stage at Mr. Trump’s election night rally and called his victory “karma.”

In January 2024, when asked about homophobic comments made by UFC fighter Sean Strickland, Mr. White told a reporter that it was “ridiculous to say I give somebody a leash. Free speech, brother. People can say whatever they want and they can believe whatever they want,” according to Awful Announcing.

Mr. White said in the release, “I’ve never been interested in joining a board of directors until I got the offer to join Meta’s board. I am a huge believer that social media and AI are the future. I am very excited to join this incredible team and to learn more about this business from the inside. There is nothing I love more than building brands, and I look forward to helping take Meta to the next level.”

Meta also recently changed its head of global policy. Joel Kaplan, a former senior adviser to President George W. Bush, replaced former U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats, according to The New York Times.

Mr. Elkann is CEO of European investment firm Exor and the leading scion of the Italian Agnelli family of industrialists. He is also chairman of car giants Ferrari and Stellantis.

Mr. Songhurst is a former Microsoft executive and a current investor in over 500 startups.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.