Sheryl Kara Sandberg, a corporate leader, billionaire, and philanthropist was born on August 28, 1969, in New York City. Sandberg is the chief operating officer (COO) of Meta Platforms, a post she will leave in the fall of 2022. She also founded the website LeanIn.Org. She was appointed COO of Facebook in 2008, making her the company’s second-highest official. She was voted to Facebook’s board of directors in June 2012, making her the company’s first female director. Sandberg was credited with turning the corporation profitable as the head of its advertising division. Sandberg was vice president of global online sales and operations at Google before joining Facebook as COO, and was also involved with Google.org, the company’s philanthropic arm. Sandberg previously worked as Lawrence Summers’ chief of staff.
She was named to the Time 100 in 2012, which is an annual ranking of the world’s most powerful individuals.
Sandberg is listed as having a net worth of US$1.7 billion on Forbes Magazine’s 2021 billionaires list, owing to her stock interests in Facebook and other businesses. She stated in 2022 that she would step down as Meta’s COO in the fall but would continue on the company’s board of directors.
Sheryl Sandberg Is Leaving Meta at The Moment, but She Has Been Leaning out For a Long Time.
Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down from Meta after 14 years as the company’s second-highest executive.
Sandberg announced her resignation as a chief operating officer in a Facebook post, stating that she will devote her time to her foundation, humanitarian initiatives, and family. When Sandberg steps down in the fall, Meta’s head of growth, Javier Olivan, will take over as COO.
Sandberg’s resignation is a major blow to Meta, but those who have followed Sandberg’s career know it’s been a long time coming.
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The Power Struggle Between Sandberg and Meta
In the years following the 2016 US presidential election, both Meta and Sandberg were dogged by controversy, with Sandberg, in particular, facing backlash over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the spread of misinformation, and Facebook’s oversight failures involving everything from militia members plotting the US Capitol riot to posts perpetrating genocide in Myanmar. She was recently in the news for allegedly pressing the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom to suppress information about an ex-boyfriend. Meta informed Bloomberg that Sandberg’s departure had nothing to do with the fresh allegations and that the firm had conducted its own inquiry into the problem, which it had concluded.
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Following the Upheavals,
The balance of power within Meta shifted, according to reports in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, as Zuckerberg took on several responsibilities that he had previously delegated to Sandberg. Sandberg had taken to remark, “I serve at the pleasure of Mark and the board,” according to the Journal in October 2020, citing anonymous Meta employees.
That isn’t to say Sandberg hasn’t remained influential at Meta and Facebook. But it’s undeniable that Zuckerberg has taken on a more public role in recent years, at least in part because Meta has been under more scrutiny from US lawmakers, and Zuckerberg has had to deal with them more personally. Sandberg, unavoidably, faded from the spotlight as a result of this.
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After She Leaves Meta, What Will Sheryl Sandberg Do?
Sandberg went out of her way to underline the strength of her cooperation with Zuckerberg in her farewell note, which is important in the context of years of conjecture about Sandberg’s growing role at Meta. “I have never had to turn to Mark because he was already there in the most vital moments of my life, in the highest highs and the deepest depths of true lows,” she wrote. In his own statement about Sandberg’s leaving, Zuckerberg was equally effusive, noting that she will stay on the board of directors “so we can benefit from her insight and experience.”
Sandberg has no plans to enter politics or take on another business role in the near future. But by leaving Meta behind, she’s letting go of the never-ending controversies that come with it and possibly opening up new doors for reinvention.