Former Tubi executive Mahmoud Reza Banki was appointed CFO of Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, joining the company in the role earlier this month according to his LinkedIn profile and media reports.
The top financial seat at the social media site appears to have been vacant since Musk swiftly fired former CFO Ned Segal, along with CEO Parag Agrawal and other top company executives, upon gaining control of the company, then-named Twitter, two years ago, CFO Dive previously reported.
Banki, an Iranian-American citizen, was one of 73 public figures and executives to receive a presidential pardon from president-elect Donald Trump during the last days of his previous term, according to an executive grant of clemency.
Banki received a presidential pardon in January 2021 in association with 2010 charges of making false statements related to government subpoenas from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, according to a statement from the White House at the time.
The CFO was also charged and convicted at the time with conspiracy to violate the Iranian Transactions Regulation, violating the ITR and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, among other counts, after transferring some $3.4 million to the U.S. from Iran, according to a summary of the case published by Thomson Reuters’ casetext.
While the charges related to sanctions were overturned upon appeal, “the felony charges for making false statements have prevented Dr. Banki from resuming a full life,” the White House said at the time. “In the years since his conviction, Dr. Banki has dedicated himself to his community and maintained a sincere love and respect for the United States.”
Banki holds a PhD in chemical engineering from Princeton University and previously served as CFO and chief strategy officer at video streaming service Tubi, logging a six-year tenure in the role, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has also worked as an independent consultant and fractional CFO for over a decade and is a founding member of CFO peer group the F Suite. He began his career at consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
Banki’s appointment comes as Musk, a vocal supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, is gearing up to take the role of “efficiency czar” for the coming administration. In the position, Musk will lead the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency and work to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said in a statement.
X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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