African American history maker in technology — Ime Archibong
Nashville, Tenn. (February 4, 2025) - To honor Black History Month, Connected Nation is paying tribute to some of the most influential African American innovators in technology.
Ime Archibong is a Black technology leader who currently holds the role of Vice President, Product Management, at Meta. As of one of the company’s highest-ranking Black executives, he has a huge influence not only on his team and the organization as a whole, but especially its minority employees.
Archibong was born on January 1, 1982, to first-generation immigrant parents from Nigeria. He attended Yale University from 1999 to 2003 where he found his passion for technology and received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer science. He went on to receive his MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, where he served as class president.
While at Stanford, Archibong worked at IBM as a software engineer on the Advanced Technology Professional Business Development team, focusing on storage research technology. In 2010, he left IBM to join Facebook as a manager of strategic partnerships. Little did he know that working at this company is where he would make his biggest impact as a business/tech professional.
Archibong was promoted to VP in 2019 and continued in that role following Facebook’s rebrand as Meta in 2021. His division focuses on new product experimentation and new app development. According to CNBC, Mark Zuckerberg regularly relies on Archibong for ideas when working on special projects. While he is known as one of Zuckerberg's right-hand men, he is better known by many Meta staff members for something even more important — as the “unofficial leader” of the Black employee base.
Archibong has been advocating for diversity and inclusion within the company for more than a decade. In 2012, he played a key role in establishing its Black@ employee resource group, and four years later, he launched the Black Community Summit — an annual event for Black employees featuring a keynote address from Zuckerberg or other Meta leadership. Initially a one-day event, the summit has since expanded to a two-day format.
During the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, Archibong spoke to the Facebook team on his experience as a Black man in America. He notably made public posts on his personal Facebook profile on the same topic.
“A selfish silver lining of this pandemic has been the lack of anxiety I’ve felt running alone,” said Archibong. “In my head, now most people quickly shuffled to avoid me out of fear of a hidden virus, not my Blackness.”
At Meta today, aside from developing new applications, Archibong is working to connect product development with activism. This includes creating innovative apps that appeal to users while leveraging Facebook's vast reach to promote equality and combat social injustice.
Along with his accomplishments at Meta, Archibong has also received the following accolades:
- In 2015, he was a MLT (Management Leader of Tomorrow) “40 Under 40: Tech Diversity in Silicon Valley” Honoree.
- In 2018, he was a Culture Shifting Weekend Awards Honoree.
Archibong’s career emphasizes the importance of technology innovation while honoring the African American experience. A leader in diversity and inclusion, he serves as a great role model for other Black professionals in tech.
Related Black History Month articles:
- Connected Nation celebrates outstanding Geospatial Analyst Nii Aryee during Black History Month
- Connected Nation Podcast: Breaking barriers: Black tech leaders’ vision for digital equity
- Meet the African American tech leaders who are working to close the Digital Divide for minorities in America
- African American history maker in tech — Lisa Gelobter
- Celebrating the role of Black churches in bridging the Digital Divide
- How technology can help uplift minorities in higher education
- Celebrating Project Manager Tanisha Osborne during Black History Month
About the Author: Lily McCoy is the Connected Nation Senior Communications Specialist. Lily provides support to the Communications Department through social media outreach and writing. She also adds a source of creativity to the team with a background in personal relations and marketing. Lily has a bachelors in corporate and organizational communications from Western Kentucky University.