Sheryl Sandberga key figure in Facebook’s transformation into a technology giant, has announced his decision to leave the board of directors of Meta. After 14 and a half years of service as Chief Operating Officer (COO) di Facebook and then Meta, Sandberg announced his decision not to run for re-election to the board of directors in May. This announcement follows her resignation from her role as COO in June 2022, when she was replaced by Javier Olivan, now Meta’s Chief Growth Officer.
In a Facebook post, Sandberg shared his decision with a mix of gratitude and memories: “With a heart full of gratitude and a mind full of memories, I let the Meta Board of Directors know that I will not be running for re-election this May. After leaving my role as COO, I remained on the board of directors to help ensure a successful transition.”
Sandberg, one of the last representatives of Zuckerberg’s old guard, received words of thanks from Mark Zuckerberg himself. In response to her announcement, Zuckerberg commented: “Thank you Sheryl for the extraordinary contributions you have made to our company and to the 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. I can’t wait for the next chapter together!”
Sheryl Sandberg, a prominent figure in Silicon Valley, had a prominent career before joining Meta’s board of directors. After leading Google’s business unit, she took the helm of Google’s for-profit philanthropic division in 2004. The meeting with Mark Zuckerberg in 2007 marks the beginning of an epochal collaboration: Zuckerberg offers her the role of COO eiTogether they transform Facebook from a $150 million company to a giant with revenues of more than that 3.7 billion dollars in 2011.
In 2012, Sandberg was elected to Facebook’s board of directors, earning recognition as one of the Time 100 most influential people in the world. Sandberg, one of Silicon Valley’s most powerful women, has actively supported the role of women in the industry tech, writing the bestseller “Lean In”. Furthermore, she has campaigned against the ban on abortion, donating 3 million of dollars to the American Civil Liberties Union and earning Forbes recognition as one of the most powerful women in the world in 2018.
However, Sandberg is not without controversy: he faced criticism for Facebook’s public relations handling during the 2016 Russian interference revelations and the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal. Recent revelations by whistleblower Frances Haugen have further highlighted sensitive issues, from adolescent mental health to the influence of algorithms on political instability.