Image Source: World Economic Forum
Sheryl Sandberg is no longer the Chief Operating Officer of Meta, the company announced on Wednesday.
The company’s former COO is leaving after 14 years of working with them. She didn’t give any reason for her decision, but Sandberg said she would focus on other philanthropic work.
In a written statement, Sandberg 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 serve as one of the board of directors, even with her departure, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told the public in a post. Zuckerberg also announced the promotion of Javier Olivan, the Chief Growth Officer of the company, to take on Sandberg’s position.
Zuckerberg noted that as COO, that Olivan’s work will be “a more traditional COO” and “different from what Sheryl has done.”
The CEO also said, “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.”
A long partnership will end
Before joining the fold, Sandberg worked as Google’s vice president of global online sales and operations. She also had senior roles at the Treasury Department during Bill Clinton’s presidency.
“When Sheryl joined me in 2008, I was only 23 years old and I barely knew anything about running a company,” Zuckerberg recalled. “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.”
The partnership between Sandberg and Zuckerberg led to Facebook’s success. With her help, the company was able to grow from $150 million dollars in 2007 to $3.7 billion in 2011.
“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,” Zuckerberg further added.
In 2018, talks echoed about Sandberg leaving Facebook but was addressed by Zuckerberg telling the press that their partnership will go on for decades.
The announcement caused for surprise among concerned parties. Zuckerberg concluded, “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.”
Opinions expressed by US Insider contributors are their own.
