Facebook Hires Former White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart

Facebook is beefing up its public relations power as it mulls an IPO that could value the company at over $100 billion.

The online social networking giant said Tuesday that it has hired former Clinton White House press secretary Joe Lockhart (above, center) as VP for corporate communications, reporting to Elliot Schrage, Facebook’s VP of global communications.

Lockhart knows a thing or two about crisis communications: he manned the White House press podium during the Clinton impeachment trial following the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Lockhart joins Facebook from Washington, D.C. consulting firm Glover Park Group, where he was Founding Partner and Managing Director.

Earlier this year, rumors surfaced that Facebook was talking to former Obama White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. Those discussions didn't pan out.

Facebook has had its share of PR gaffes, most recently with the brouhaha over Facebook's facial recognition feature, and the Burson Marsteller debacle.

Here's Schrage's statement, via AllThingsD:

Joe’s arrival brings new skills and greater depth to our incredibly busy team. His experience building and running a press office at the White House gives him particular appreciation for the demands of a global 24-hour news cycle and the challenges of responding effectively to intense scrutiny. His experience launching and scaling a communications firm will help us as we seek to build our team and continue to offer great opportunities for growth and professional development.

*Image: Tulane Public Relations/Flickr*See Also:- Singel-Minded: Anatomy of a Backlash, or How Facebook Got an ‘F’ for Facial Recognition

• Burson-Marsteller Deletes Critical Facebook Posts, Spares Google-Smear Flacks
• BOOM! Goes the Dynamite Under Facebook’s Google Smear Campaign
• Facebook’s Stealth Attack on Google Exposes Its Own Privacy Problem
• Facebook Friending Gibbs?