Facebook elects second woman to board

Facebook elected its second woman, Susan Desmond-Hellmann, chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco, to its board of directors, the company announced today.

Dr. Desmond-Hellmann joins Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer, in adding a female dynamic to the once males-only club. Sandberg was elected to the board in June 2012 after months of pressure from organizations to diversify the governing group, which previously consisted of seven white men.

The appointment comes with its perks. Desmond-Hellmann is getting a $50,000 annual retainer fee and 20,000 restricted stock units that will vest over four years.

The benies are well-deserved. Facebook's newest board member brings with her a remarkable medical pedigree. The UCSF chancellor currently oversees the university's medical center strategy, and previously spent 14 years at biotech company Genentech, where she served as president of product development.

Desmond-Hellmann also holds a board seat for Procter & Gamble and is a trustee for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. You may recall that she recently played host to Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and other tech luminaries at a press event to discuss the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

With the appointment, Facebook's board now consists of nine members: Sandberg, Zuckerberg, Marc Andreessen, Erskine Bowles, James Breyer, Donald Graham, Reed Hastings, Peter Thiel, and the newly elected Desmond-Hellmann.