As Facebook prepares for a possible IPO next year, the social media company has named Reed Hastings – chairman and CEO of Netflix – to its board of directors.

In his analysis of the move, Engadget’s Richard Lawler noted that Hastings “successfully navigated Netflix through the process of going public which many assume will be a next step for the social media giant, so his experience could come in handy.”

He is also on the board of Microsoft, which “owns a stake in Facebook,” Lawler said. He is currently lead independent director at Microsoft.

In addition, Hastings has actual experience running a well-known company.

In its analysis, The San Francisco Chronicle said Hasting’s appointment to the Facebook board may show “a deeper integration between the video-streaming giant and the world's biggest social network is near.”

Some of the other Facebook board members include: Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz; Jim Breyer of Accel Partners; Donald E. Graham, chairman and CEO of The Washington Post Company; and Peter Thiel of Clarium Capital and Founders Fund.

“Reed is an entrepreneur and technologist who has led Netflix to transform the way people watch movies and TV,” Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, as well as a company board member, said in a company statement. “He has built a culture of continuous rapid innovation, something we share and work hard to build every day.”

“Facebook is propelling a fundamental change in how people connect with each other and share all kinds of content,” Hastings explained in the statement. “I'm looking forward to working with Mark and the rest of the board to help Facebook take advantage of all the opportunities ahead.”

Facebook may have a valuation as high as $100 billion, according to TechZone360.

Netflix has over 23 million members in the United States and Canada. Hastings founded the company in 1997, and it is now the leading Internet subscription service for movies and TV shows.

Previously, Hastings founded Pure Atria Software. Hastings was also president of the California State Board of Education between 2000 and 2004.

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Ed Silverstein is a TechZone360 contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell