Facebook is in talks to hire Robert Gibbs, President Obama’s former White House press secretary, for a senior role in helping to manage the company’s communications, people briefed on the negotiations said.
Facebook is seeking out Mr. Gibbs ahead of an initial public offering planned for early 2012, these people said.
Remember when the president lauded his former press secretary for laboring in exchange for "relatively modest" pay (at $172,000 per year)? He was right:
A job for Mr. Gibbs at Facebook could be worth millions of dollars. While details of his potential compensation package have yet to be discussed, people briefed on the talks said that he would receive a cash salary as well as shares ahead of the initial offering. Facebook is being valued by some investors at more than $60 billion and could be the largest offering in history.
Approached by the New York Times to comment on the story, Gibbs did what he does best:
Mr. Gibbs and a spokesman for Facebook declined to comment.
I obviously wasn't privy to the conversation, but based on past performance, it may have gone something like this:
Reporter: Mr. Gibbs, can you confirm or deny that you are currently negotiating a lucrative deal at Facebook?
Gibbs: I, uh...don't, um, have any information on that right now. Ok?
Communications. Maven.