San Francisco, Aug 24 (IANS): Facebook on Friday announced to hire Antonio Lucio, currently Global Chief Marketing and Communication Officer at HP Inc, who will work across the social media giant's family of apps, including WhatsApp and Instagram.

Lucio will report to Facebook Chief Product Officer Chris Cox and will be part of Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg's leadership team.

"Antonio will join us from HP, where he led their marketing team for three years. Before that he was the CMO at Visa and at PepsiCo," Cox wrote on Facebook.

Lucio, replacing Gary Briggs who has announced to step down, will start as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Facebook from September 4.

"Facebook's story is at an inflection point. We have never faced bigger challenges, and we have never had more opportunities to have a positive impact on the world by improving our products at their core," said Cox.

Lucio spent over three years with Palo Alto-based HP Inc following its separationAfrom the The Hewlett Packard Corporation.

"(Lucio) has been outspoken on the need to build authentic global brands with integrity and from places of principle, and also on the importance of building diverse teams at every level in the organisation (HP)," added Cox.