Who is Javier Olivan, Meta's next COO? What is his net worth?
By Team Newsable | First Published Jun 2, 2022, 10:56 AM ISTJavier Olivan will replace Sheryl Sandberg, who made a shock announcement on Wednesday that she would step down as Meta COO in the fall.
Meta Platforms veteran Javier Olivan will take over as the company's Chief Operating Officer (COO) after playing a pivotal but largely behind-the-scenes role in boosting the social media giant's exponential growth for 15 years. The Spaniard will replace Sheryl Sandberg, who made a shock announcement on Wednesday that she would step down from the post in the fall.
Also read: Sheryl Sandberg steps down as Meta COO: Her career, net worth, family and more
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Sandberg's decision to step down as Meta COO comes at a time when the social media juggernaut faces an uncertain future and fierce competition. The social network has recently rebranded itself in a pivot toward a belief the internet is headed towards becoming an immersive virtual world, referred to as the metaverse.
"Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life," Sandberg said. "I am not entirely sure what the future will bring -- I have learned no one ever is."
All about Javier Olivan
Olivan, who hails from the Pyrenees region of northern Spain, holds degrees in electrical and industrial engineering from the University of Navarra and a master's in business administration from Stanford University.
Before joining Facebook as Head of International Growth in 2007, Olivan worked at Japan's NTT and Siemens.
At the time of joining Facebook, the company has a user base of around 40 million, which has now grown to 3.6 billion. According to an interview Olivian gave in 2010 to VentureBeat, he pushed Facebook's expansion into countries such as India, Japan, Russia, Indonesia and Brazil.
In 2011, Olivan was promoted to Vice President, Growth - a position he held till 2018. According to his LinkedIn profile, during this time, he led all growth efforts, which focused on bringing the family of apps and new technology to everyone worldwide. This includes Facebook's efforts to accelerate connectivity in collaboration with mobile operators worldwide.
In 2018, Olivan became the VP of Central Products, where he led and managed the products and functions that span the four large Meta applications: Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Messenger. This includes growth efforts, integrity, ads, commerce and social impact efforts.
In January 2022, Olivan was made the Chief Growth Officer and VP, Cross-Meta Products and Infrastructure, where his key role is to lead and manage the products and functions that span the four large Meta applications: Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Messenger.
While there is no confirmation on Olivan's earnings, it is speculated that his net worth is around 15-20 million dollars.
As Meta COO, Olivan will continue to lead infrastructure and corporate development. But his portfolio will also include advertising and business products, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
One thing is unlikely to change. Olivan will continue to stay out of the limelight as he carries out the COO job. This contrasts with Sandberg, who appeared before Congress, wrote a best-selling book about women in the workplace and often represented Facebook to outside audiences.
Also read: Cambridge Analytica scandal: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sued by Washington, DC AG
"This role will be different from what Sheryl has done. It will be a more traditional COO role where Javi will be focused internally and operationally, building on his strong track record of making our execution more efficient and rigorous," Zuckerberg said.
Meanwhile, Olivian too expressed his excitement upon taking this new role and thanked Zuckerberg for the opportunity. "I'm excited to take on this new challenge as COO. As Mark said, you can't really replace someone like Sheryl; so while I'll have the same title, this will be a different role," he wrote in a Facebook post.
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