With Facebook’s IPO looming, it could be expected that the company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg (News - Alert), would be putting in a number of appearances and taking meetings with Wall Street investors. However, prospective investors seeking assurances about Facebook (News - Alert) and its plans may have to turn to some of the company’s other employees.

Zuckerberg decided to skip the first major briefing for analysts and bankers, the first of many meetings that will take place in the lead-up to the IPO, from which Facebook is hoping to raise $5 billion.

Zuckerberg’s snub of the meeting (and perhaps Wall Street as a whole) might not be uncommon for a Silicon Valley executive, though the Facebook co-founder has a great deal of control over the company through his voting power (he will control 56.9 percent of post-IPO voting shares). As such, his reluctance to meet with investors could become an issue.

“We don't think that he should be hiding from the investors,” said Carin Zelenko, the director of the capital strategies department for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

“He wants investors to put their money behind him, with the confidence in him personally, as the person who built this company and who's going to lead it and control it. He should be accountable to those people who are investing.”

At least two of the briefing’s attendees, who expected at least a minor appearance from the Facebook CEO, noted Zuckerberg’s absence to Reuters. An analyst at the meeting enquired about Zuckerberg’s future involvement in the IPO process, with the company responding that expectations for Zuckerberg’s involvement should be set low, according to one of the attendees.

Meanwhile, Facebook has yet to confirm whether Zuckerberg will take part in the pre-IPO investor roadshow or quarterly earnings calls once the company goes public.

Zuckerberg’s absence from Wall Street is mitigated by the fact he has an experienced management team working with him. For instance, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is a former Google (News - Alert) executive and has a great deal of experience in financial affairs. She is expected to become Facebook’s main public face with investors as the company becomes publicly traded, and some bankers and Wall Street investors are fine with that.

“I would always like access to the CEO, but the best use of his time is in running the company,” said Dan Niles, chief investment officer at AlphaOne Capital Partners. “I worry more about a CEO who seems to spend too much time talking to Wall Street and the media.”

Meanwhile, Facebook is said to be paying a 1.1 percent fee to its underwriters, far less than the typical Wall Street range of between 3 percent and 7 percent.