Hugo Barra steps down as Oculus head for new Facebook AR/VR role

Hugo Barra is stepping away from his position as head of Oculus, but will remain with Oculus parent company Facebook to build a “global AR/VR partner ecosystem" and expand the audience for the technology.

Barra stepped in as Facebook’s VP of VR in early 2017 to head up its virtual reality development efforts shortly after former Oculus CEO and co-founder Brendan Iribe left the chief executive position.

As shared in a tweet earlier today, Barra plans to stay at Facebook despite stepping down from the VP of VR role. Instead, he says he’ll be working on “building a global AR/VR partner ecosystem based in NYC.” His departure comes just ahead of the release of the Oculus Quest and the Oculus Rift S, releases he says complete the company’s first-gen lineup of VR gear.

Erick Tseng is stepping in to lead Facebook’s AR/VR project management following Barra’s departure, a career shift also announced on Twitter today. Previously Tseng served as the company’s director of product management.

"Taking on a new role [at Facebook] leading AR/VR Product Management," tweeted Tseng. "Excited to return to my consumer hardware roots and join a team that is transforming science fiction into reality. Looking forward to delivering products that will revolutionize how we work, play, and connect."

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