- Sandberg first joined Meta when it became known as Facebook in 2008, after meeting at a party a year earlier
Meta’s former COO Sheryl Sandberg plans to step down from her position on the company’s board of directors after her term ends in May, she said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
“Meta-business is strong and well positioned for the future, so this feels like the right time to exit,” Sandberg, 54, said in the post, adding that she will serve as an advisor to the company.
Responding to Sandberg, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was looking forward to “a new chapter together.”
Sandberg’s decision came after she spent more than fourteen years as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, in addition to twelve years on the board of directors. During her time as COO, the company acquired powerhouses like Instagram and WhatsApp.
In 2022, Sandberg married CEO Tom Bernthal, her third marriage. The Harvard graduate was married to a man named Brian Kraff for a year between 1993 and 1994.
In 2004, she married Yahoo CEO Dave Goldberg. The couple had two children together, a son and a daughter. Goldberg tragically died in 2015 at just 47 years old while vacationing in Mexico due to an undiagnosed heart condition.
Meta’s former COO Sheryl Sandberg plans to resign from her position on the company’s board of directors after her term ends in May
When announcing her departure, Sandberg posted this undated photo of her with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg
Sandberg pictured with her husband Tom Bernthal at the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho in July 2023
Once founder Zuckerberg’s second-in-command, Sandberg was one of the most visible executives at the company and the chief architect of its oft-criticized ad-based business model.
Sandberg has often been on the defensive, publicly supporting the company following scandals including the spread of misinformation surrounding the 2016 presidential election, Cambridge Analytica and its role in the January 2021 Capitol riot.
Sandberg resigned from her position as operational head of Meta in 2022.
In her Facebook post announcing the departure, Sandberg said she had “a heart full of gratitude and a mind full of memories.”
Before joining Facebook, Sandberg served as vice president of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google and chief of staff at the U.S. Treasury Department under former President Bill Clinton.
Sandberg is a graduate of Harvard University and the author of several books, including the 2013 feminist manifesto Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.
Zuckerberg responded to Sandberg’s post with a short reply, thanking her for her work.
“Thank you Sheryl for the extraordinary contributions you have made to our company and our community over the years. Your dedication and guidance have been instrumental in driving our success and I am grateful for your continued commitment to me and Meta over the years,” he said.
Sandberg has often been on the defensive and publicly supported the company following scandals, including the spread of misinformation surrounding the 2016 presidential election
Sandberg pictured with her late former husband David Goldberg at the 2013 Sun Valley conference
Her departure comes as Facebook struggles to maintain market share thanks to the growth of more youth-oriented social media apps, especially TikTok.
The company also faces challenges thanks to Apple’s new privacy legislation, which could have a serious impact on Meta’s ad-based business model.