'End of an era,' writes Zuckerberg after Sheryl Sandberg steps down as Meta COO
By Team Newsable | First Published Jun 2, 2022, 10:54 AM ISTSandberg oversaw Facebook's (now Metas) advertising business, growing it from its beginnings to a $100 billion-a-year behemoth. Sandberg, the company's second most-recognized face behind CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has also become a contentious figure following disclosures about how some of her business choices for Facebook contributed to the spread of misinformation and hate speech.
Sheryl Sandberg, the No. 2 executive at Facebook owner Meta, has decided to step down. Sandberg helped transform the company from a startup to a digital advertising powerhouse while also assuming responsibility for some of its worst mistakes. Sandberg has been the social media company's chief operational officer for 14 years. She joined Facebook from Google in 2008, four years before the company went public.
"When I started this work in 2008, I wanted to stay for five years. Fourteen years later, it is time for me to start writing the next chapter of my life," Sandberg said on her Facebook page on Wednesday. Sandberg oversaw Facebook's (now Metas) advertising business, growing it from its beginnings to a $100 billion-a-year behemoth. Sandberg, the company's second most-recognized face behind CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has also become a contentious figure following disclosures about how some of her business choices for Facebook contributed to the spread of misinformation and hate speech.
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As one of the most visible female leaders in the technology business, she was frequently chastised for not doing enough for women and others hurt by Facebook's products. Her public speaking skills, as well as her seemingly seamless ability to bridge the realms of technology, commerce, and politics, stood in stark contrast to Zuckerberg, particularly in Facebook's early years. But Zuckerberg has subsequently caught up, preparing for the multiple congressional hearings in which he has been challenged to defend Facebook's actions.
Sandberg will leave Meta in the autumn but will remain on the company's board.
Javier Olivan, who now supervises important activities at Meta's four primary programmes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, will serve as Meta's new COO, according to Zuckerberg's own Facebook post. However, it will be a different role than Sandberg has held for the last 14 years. Javi will be focused internally and operationally, expanding on his outstanding track record of making our execution more efficient and rigorous, according to Zuckerberg.
More details about Sheryl Sandberg
Sandberg, now 52, originally assisted Google in creating what rapidly became the internet's largest — and most profitable — advertising network. But she left that position to take on the challenge of turning Facebook's freewheeling social network into a profitable corporation while simultaneously mentoring Zuckerberg, who was 23 at the time.
She proved to be just what Zuckerberg and the firm needed at the appropriate time, paving the path for Facebook's highly anticipated first public offering of shares a decade ago.
While Zuckerberg remained Facebook's visionary and controlling shareholder, Sandberg became the motor of a corporation powered by a quickly rising digital ad industry that has grown almost as successful as the one she helped build around Google's dominating search engine.
Sandberg, as one of the top female executives in technology, has been looked up as an example for working women at times, a position she seemed to embrace with a best-selling 2013 book titled Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.
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