Sheryl Sandberg leaves her role as chief operating officer of Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook.
Sandberg joined Facebook in early 2008 as the No. 2 CEO and co-founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, and helped make Facebook an advertising giant and one of the most powerful companies in the technology industry, with a market cap that exceeded $ 1 trillion at one point.
Javier Olivan, the company’s growth director, will take over as COO this fall. Sandberg, who informed Zuckerberg of his decision last weekend, will continue to serve on Meta’s board of directors.
“Over the next few months, Mark and I will make the transition from my direct subordinates,” Sandberg said in a lengthy Facebook post about his resignation. Meta is also planning an internal reorganization to accompany the change, Zuckerberg said.
“Looking to the future, I don’t plan to replace Sheryl’s role in our existing structure. I’m not sure that’s possible, as she’s a superstar who defined the role of COO in her unique way,” Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook.
“But even if it were possible, I think Meta has reached the point where it makes sense for our products and business groups to be more integrated, rather than having all the business and operational functions organized separately from our products,” he said. to say.
Meta has been criticized in recent years for its massive influence, its lack of success in stopping the spread of misinformation and harmful material, and its acquisitions of rivals such as Instagram and WhatsApp. Zuckerberg and other executives have been forced to testify before Congress several times in the past three years, although Sandberg has largely escaped that focus. The company is currently facing an antitrust lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission and could see scrutiny from other agencies such as the Stock Exchange and Securities Commission after a whistleblower filed a complaint about his efforts to combat the hate your platform.
Sandberg took advantage of her success with Facebook to raise her own profile, especially among women in the workplace.
In 2013, she published the book “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead,” focusing on the challenges women face in the workplace and what they can do to advance their careers.
In 2015, she faced the unexpected death of her husband Dave Goldberg, who suffered a cardiac arrhythmia and collapsed on a treadmill. Sandberg has spoken at length about how to deal with the pain of Goldberg’s death, and in 2017 he published a book entitled “Option B” focusing on the subject.
Prior to Facebook, Sandberg worked in the Clinton administration’s Treasury Department, then joined Google in 2001 and helped grow its advertising business.