Elliot Schrage | |
|---|---|
 Schrage, January 2010 | |
| Education | A.B. 1981,J.D. &M.P.P. 1986 |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Occupation(s) | FormerVP of Communications and Public Policy and VP of Special Projects |
| Employer | |
Elliot J. Schrage is an American lawyer and business executive. Until June 2018, he was vice president of global communications, marketing, and public policy atFacebook, where he directed the company's government affairs andpublic relations efforts.[1][2][3] He then served as vice president of special projects at Facebook.[4]
Schrage was born to aJewish family[5] and holds degrees fromHarvard Law School[6] (J.D. 1986), theJohn F. Kennedy School of Government (M.P.P. 1986),[7] andHarvard College (A.B. 1981). He also studied at theÉcole Normale Supérieure inParis,France.[8]
Schrage began his legal career withSullivan & Cromwell, where he specialized in U.S.securities offerings,mergers and acquisitions, and corporate transactions, includingproject financing for theEuro Disneylandtheme park.[8]
He then worked as managing director of the New York office of Clark & Weinstock, a public policy andmanagement consulting firm. Since 1990, Schrage also served as adjunct professor atColumbia Business School, where he taught a seminar that "explores the intersection ofinternational human rights law and multinational business practices", andColumbia Law School.[8]
Schrage served as the Bernard L. Schwarz Senior Fellow in Business and Foreign Policy at theCouncil on Foreign Relations[9] and also worked atGap, Inc., as the senior vice president for global communications.[10]
On October 31, 2005, it was announced that Schrage had joinedGoogle as vice president, Global Communications and Public Affairs,[11] where he managed communications and public affairs issues around Google's acquisition ofYouTube in 2006 as well asDoubleClick in 2007.[12] Upon joining Google, Schrage inherited the company's controversy regarding censoring search results inChina.[13] On February 15, 2006, he testified in front of theUnited States House Committee on International Relations on behalf of Google on the subject ofInternet in the People's Republic of China[14] in connection with Google's decision to offer a limited, but transparent, search to enter the Chinese market[15] and compete withBaidu, a more restrictive and non-transparent service.[16][17]
In 2007, Schrage was instrumental in creating a partnership between theUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum andGoogle Earth team to map evidence of atrocities in theDarfur region ofSudan and raise public awareness of the attemptedgenocide in the region.[18][19][20]
In announcing Schrage's appointment as VP of Global Communications andPublic policy in May 2008, Facebook CEOMark Zuckerberg indicated that Schrage "will direct our efforts to work with users, media, governments and other entities around the world to ensure that Facebook's policies are transparent, responsive, effective and are recognized as being those things".[21][22]
On May 12, 2010,The New York Times published a Q&A with Schrage, where he answered readers' questions.[23] The interview was panned and negatively rated in the press, with Schrage attracting criticism for his poor handling of Facebook'sprivacy policies.[24] In 2017, Schrage launched Facebook's "Hard Questions" series to explain Facebook's policies and discuss challenging topics including the company's impact on society.[25][26] The series, edited by former New York Timespublic editorElizabeth Spayd,[27][28] included more than 40 posts, videos or transcripts with contributions from Facebook executives and other experts, includingToomas Hendrik Ilves.[29] In 2018, Schrage launched Facebook's initiative to open data for independent academic research on social media's influence on elections and democracy.[30][31][32] In 2018, it was reported that Schrage tasked aRepublican-affiliated PR firm to push negative narratives about Facebook's competitors, namelyApple andGoogle.[33]
Schrage led Facebook's initiatives to address the impacts of the company's growing size onhousing costs and transportation, initially near the company's headquarters and, later, on theSan Francisco Bay Area.[34] In 2016, the company announced a partnership with local community groups to supportaffordable housing, job training and assistance for tenants at risk of losing their homes.[35] Facebook's initial contribution of $20 million[36] unlocked over $75 million of additional resources to finance affordable housing.[37] In 2019, Schrage led Facebook's announcement of a $1 billion 10-year investment in affordable housing and permanent support housing for the homeless acrossCalifornia.[34]
"Elliot Schrage at Facebook is as important to the success of that company as any of their marketers or engineers because again, without his ability to play in DC and Brussels, etc., they're going to be constrained."
— Richard Edelman, President and CEO ofEdelman[38]
On June 14, 2018, he announced his intention to resign from his position at Facebook.[39] Schrage was succeeded by former British Deputy Prime Minister and leader of theLiberal DemocratsNick Clegg.[40]
In the bookCareless People published in March 2025,Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Meta executive, wrote that Schrage did not provide her with support in preventing and stopping the sexual harassment she was experiencing from her manager,Joel Kaplan. Wynn-Williams wrote that Kaplan demanded she work through her maternity leave, barraged her with sexually charged comments on a regular basis, and grinded his body against her during a company party.[41][42] Wynn-Williams wrote that not long after the investigation into her report of sexual harassment was closed, with no wrongdoing identified by Facebook, she had her regularly scheduled 6-month performance review meeting, except this time Schrage held this meeting in place of Kaplan, and brought Facebook's chief employment lawyer. Wynn-Williams was fired in a "perfunctory manner" by Schrage, told she could receive a reference from her manager Joel Kaplan, and was escorted out of the building by security.[41][43] Wynn-Williams wrote that Schrage "fell on his sword" after controversy erupted regarding Facebook hiring an opposition research firm to dig up dirt on critics and perceived enemies, and smearing them with hate and conspiracy theories.[41]
Schrage worked for such groups asHuman Rights First,Human Rights Watch and theRobert F. Kennedy Memorial.[8] Schrage helped to create, and co-taught, the first stand-alone course dedicated to exploring the human rights responsibilities of global business at Columbia Business School in the early 1990s.[44] Later, the course was also offered at Columbia Law School and the School of International Public Affairs.[44] Schrage advised various international corporations and trade associations, assisting them in developing corporate "codes of conduct" on human rights. Alongside the development of mechanisms to monitor human rights compliance, he assisted these bodies in evaluating the efficacy of their monitoring programs.[8] In 1992–93, Schrage created and served as the first director of the Liaison Office onHuman Rights and Environment forThe Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (now Human Rights First), one of the first programs to investigate connections between the growing US movement for environmental justice and international human rights obligations.[8] In 1996, Schrage helped organize a partnership between three organizations;UNICEF, theILO andSave the Children. The purpose of the partnership was to end child labor in soccer ball production inPakistan. At that time Pakistan was the source for three of every four balls produced each year. A further project was announced to address the same problems regarding labor and production inIndia.[45] From 2000 to 2001, Schrage served as Senior Vice President ofGlobal Affairs for Gap Inc.[46] Schrage's position required him to manage the social responsibility initiatives of the company. As part of this role he oversaw engagement programs for company stakeholders, which included various social investors,NGOs and government officials. Furthermore, he was tasked with auditing the working conditions for factory workers who manufactured goods for the Gap,Old Navy andBanana Republic brands, through the set up and direction of a new body for Gap, entitled Gap's Global Compliance Organization.[8] He led study groups onJudging Corporate Liability in the Global Economy,[47]Leveraging the Power of the Privat Sector in the Middle East and North Africa[48] andBeyond the Letter of the Law: The Global Impact of Compliance as a Foreign Policy Tool.[49] His work on the application of theAlien Tort Statute was cited by theU.S. Supreme Court in its analyses of potential liability for multinational corporations for complicity in human rights abuses in the countries where they do business.[50] He also advised theAmerican Apparel Manufacturers Association in developing theWorldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) Certification Program, a global program to certify apparel factories that comply with human rights standards.[8]
Schrage has served on theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science's Committee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights, and theU.S. Department of Treasury Advisory Committee onInternational Child Labor Enforcement and is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[51] His board experience includes serving as a trustee of theHarvard Law School Association of New York, Director of theInternational League for Human Rights, and the Director of theMedicare Beneficiaries Defense Fund (nowMedicare Rights Center).[45] He was twice appointed byPresident Obama to serve as Trustee of theUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum.[52]
Schrage, his wife, and his children reside inSan Francisco, California.
Being Jewish is a core part of who I am and our company stands firmly against hate.
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