I read something about him on TweakTown about that, he is VP of virtual reality (VPVR!) and lead the Oculus team
I also read the article by Russell, and I understand the excitement about him doing anything, he was considered one of the keys for the huge success of Android, XIomi is doing pretty great also, taking a place in anything they produce (Action Cameras, Smartphones, Laptops, and more), so I also hope he will bring a lot in this VR world.
Tweaktown article:
Hugo Barra leaves Xiaomi to lead Facebook VR team