About

‘Facebook has a relatively young and dynamic workforce, which is refreshing after working in a law firm, where there’s more of a hierarchical structure’. One of the founding members of Facebook’s Ireland legal function, Peter O’Neill handles all advertising issues outside the US, leading a multi-jurisdictional team. ‘It was a bit of a whirlwind’, he says. ‘I’ve been here nearly three years and the digital advertising landscape has changed significantly over this period. In addition, the evolution of Facebook ad products and the companies we’ve acquired has meant the role has become more and more complex, interesting and challenging’. It is the highly international nature of the transactions he handles, O’Neill says, which really makes the work so unique. ‘The wide multi-jurisdictional breadth of my role is really rewarding. You have to consider how deals work culturally and legally’. Previously working at two Irish law firms, the culture at Facebook was a significant change of step; particularly in areas such as feedback. ‘Within Facebook, there’s the opportunity to give and get real-time feedback. In fact, it’s encouraged for people to give you feedback on a regular basis. Coming from a law firm, I think that’s something that was a little surprising at the beginning’.