Facebook has hired Matthew Henick as its head of content planning and strategy, media partnerships. Henick will be resigning from his post as head of BuzzFeed’s entertainment studio. At Facebook, Henick will be reporting to Nick Grudin, Facebook’s VP of media partnerships. He will be relocating from LA to Menlo Park, California, Facebook’s campus.
Henick announced this shift through a Facebook post.
“Facebook is just setting out on its journey to become a new kind of video platform for the world, and the opportunity to tag along was just too good to pass up,” Henick wrote. “As media learns to wield the advantages of the digital world, a completely new video experience is emerging on mobile, with a potential for social and interactivity that we’re only beginning to tap,” he continued. “Facebook is in an amazing position to offer that. It’s a clear extension of the company’s mission to bring the world closer together.”
Henick started working with BuzzFeed in 2014 as the head of development at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. The company went through reorganization, after which he assumed the position of head at BuzzFeed Studios with 40 employees reporting to him. At BuzzFeed he was overseeing the digital media brand’s film and TV output.
A BuzzFeed rep said in a statement, “We love Henick, wish him all the very best of luck, and look forward to continuing to work closely with him in his new role. He leaves our fast-growing Studio business in great shape, and we’re excited to bring aboard a new leader for the group who will take it to the next level.”
Prior to joining BuzzFeed, Henick worked as an assistant for Judd Apatow and also worked as a writer and startup consultant. He is a graduate from the USC Peter Stark Producing Program and co-founded a ringtone website while he was still in high school.
Facebook launched a new video platform known as Watch in August. Through this platform, it has started to fund short-form and traditional-length series. At Facebook, Henick is expected to work on projects for Watch and videos that are published to the Newsfeed. He will be working toward setting up a strategy that will help optimize the way partners like BuzzFeed use video on the platform.