Diving:

• Former Tubi CEO Mahmoud Reza Banki has been named 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 finance spot at the social media site appears to have been vacant since Musk quickly fired former CFO Ned Segalalong with CEO Parag Agrawal and other top company executives after taking control of the company, then called Twitter, two years ago, CFO Dive previously reported.
• Banki, an Iranian-American citizen, was one of 73 public figures and executives who received a presidential pardon from President-elect Donald Trump in the final days of his previous term, according to a executive granting of clemency.

Diving Perspective:

Banki received a presidential pardon in January 2021 in connection with charges in 2010 of making false statements related to government subpoenas from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, according to a White House statement at the time.

The CFO was also charged and convicted at the time of conspiring to violate the Iranian Transactions Regulations, violating the ITR and operating an unlicensed money transmission business, among other charges, after transferring some $3.4 million to the US from Iran, according to a summary of the case published by Thomson Reuters case text.

While the sanctions-related charges were overturned on appeal, “the felony charges of perjury 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, a six-year tenure in that 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 the CFO F Suite peer group. He started his career at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Banki’s appointment comes as Musk, a vocal supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, prepares until he takes over the role of “Efficiency Czar” for the future administration. In that role, Musk will lead the new Department of Government Efficiency and work to “dismantle the government bureaucracy, reduce excessive regulation, reduce wasteful spending and restructure federal agencies,” Trump said in a statement.

X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.