Facebook Chief Product Officer Quits After 13 Years

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Facebook said Thursday its chief product officer Chris Cox was leaving the company, becoming the highest-ranking executive to depart amid the turmoil at the leading social network.

Cox made his announcement in on his Facebook page, saying he was leaving "with great sadness" after 13 years.

While Cox gave no specific reason for his move, he noted that Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled a new direction away from being the "digital town square" to focus on smaller-scale, private interactions.

"As Mark has outlined, we are turning a new page in our product direction, focused on an encrypted, interoperable, messaging network," Cox wrote.

"This will be a big project and we will need leaders who are excited to see the new direction through."