After 14 years, Sheryl Sandberg has decided to step down as Chief Operating Officer, Meta.
In a Facebook post, Sandberg revealed that her not-so-easy-to-make decision comes as a result of her zeal “to make more room to do more philanthropically, and do more with her foundation.”
“When I took this job in 2008, l hoped l would be in this role for five years. Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life. l am not entirely sure what the future will bring — I have learned no one ever is. But l know it will include focusing more on my foundation and philanthropic work, which is more important to me than ever given how critical this moment is for women.”
Since 2008, Sheryl Sandberg has helped increase Facebook’s revenue. She was focused on ensuring the social networking platform helped small businesses scale through advertisement, and this helped increase the company’s ad revenue by 21% during 2020, to $84.2 billion.
Explaining her beginning at Meta, she said: “When I first met Mark, I was not really looking for a new job and l could have never predicted how meeting him would change my life. We were at a holiday party at Daniel L Rosensweig’s house. l was introduced to Mark as l walked in the door, and we started talking about his vision for Facebook. I had tried The Facebook, as it was first called but still thought the internet was a largely anonymous place to search for funny pictures. Mark’s belief that people would put their real selves online to connect with other people was so mesmerizing that we stood by that door and talked for the rest of the night.”
The 52-year old wealth of intelligence has a Masters degree in Business Administration, studied at Harvard University — Harvard Business School; Bachelor of Arts/Science and began her career as Chief of Staff to then U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
In an appreciation statement, she said: “Thank you to the colleagues who inspire me every day with their commitment to our mission, to our partners around the world who have enabled us to build a business that serves their businesses, and especially to Mark for giving me this opportunity and being one of the best friends anyone could ever have.”
Mark Zuckerberg responded to Sheryl Sandberg’s post: “The end of an era. In the 14 years, we’ve worked together, you’ve architected our ads business, hired great people, forged our management culture, and taught me how to run a company. I’m going to miss working alongside you every day, but grateful to have you as a lifelong friend. Thank you for all you’ve done for me and my family, for our company, and for millions of people around the world. You’re a superstar.”