Image Source: World Economic Forum
Sheryl Sandberg is no longer the Chief Operating Officer of Meta, an announcement confirmed on Wednesday. After 14 years of service, the COO is leaving her position. She did not state any reasons for this decision but announced that it would happen in the fall.
Sandberg wrote to the public and said, “The debate around social media has changed beyond recognition since those early days. To say it hasn’t always been easy is an understatement. But it should be hard. The products we make have a huge impact, so we have the responsibility to build them in a way that protects privacy and keeps people safe.”
However, Sandberg will still be one of the board of directors in Mate, CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed in a Facebook post. Zuckerberg added that Javier Olivan, the Chief Growth Officer of the company, will be replacing Sandberg.
As COO, Zuckerberg further said, Olivan’s job will be “a more traditional COO” and “different from what Sheryl has done.”
“I think Meta has reached the point where it makes sense for our product and business groups to be more closely integrated, rather than having all the business and operations functions organized separately from our products,” Zuckerberg said.
Long partnership now at an end
Prior to working in Facebook, Sandberg served as Google’s vice president of global online sales and operations. She also had senior roles at the Treasure Department, working for the Clinton administration.
Zuckerberg recalls, “When Sheryl joined me in 2008, I was only 23 years old and I barely knew anything about running a company. We’d built a great product — the Facebook website — but we didn’t yet have a profitable business and we were struggling to transition from a small startup to a real organization.”
Their partnership has been a success. Facebook’s earnings went from $150 million to over $3.7 billion in just four years. The immense growth is largely due to their successful relationship together with Sandberg at the helm as COO running things smoothly.
Zuckerberg further addressed, “Sheryl architected our ads business, hired great people, forged our management culture, and taught me how to run a company. She created opportunities for millions of people around the world, and she deserves the credit for so much of what Meta is today.”
Talks about Sandberg leaving Facebook echoed in 2018 but were addressed by Zuckerberg, telling the press that their partnership would go on for decades.
The announcement shocked many, to which Zuckerberg said, “It’s unusual for a business partnership like ours to last so long. I think ours did because Sheryl is such an amazing person, leader, partner, and friend.”
