Sheryl Sandberg, who serves as COO of Meta Platforms, is leaving the company after 14 years of being Mark Zuckerberg's right-hand woman.
The American business executive, billionaire and philanthropist made a name for herself for the instrumental role she played in growing Facebook to become the world's biggest social network, with over 2.9 billion users globally.
In 2008, she was made COO of Facebook, becoming the company's second-highest ranking official. In June 2012, she was elected to Facebook's board of directors, becoming the first woman to serve on its board, according to Wikipedia.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Sandberg announced she will be stepping down in the next few months, highlighting how proud she is of everything the Facebook team has achieved from inception.
“When I took this job in 2008, I hoped I would be in this role for five years. Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life. I am not entirely sure what the future will bring – I have learned no one ever is.
“But I 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.”
Zuckerberg, who was a Harvard student at the time, launched Facebook in February 2004, initially as The Facebook. The initial concept was for him to build a social media website aimed at connecting Harvard students with one another, added Sandberg.
On its second day of existence, over a thousand people had registered on the platform, and its global user growth has skyrocketed since.
“Sitting by Mark’s side for these 14 years has been an honour and privilege of a lifetime,” Sandberg continued in her status update. Over the next few months, Zuckerberg and Sandberg will transition her direct reports before her departure.
“I still believe as strongly as ever in our mission, and I am honoured that I will continue to serve on Meta’s board of directors. I am so immensely proud of everything this team has achieved. The businesses we’ve helped and the business we've built.
“The culture we've nurtured together. And I'm especially proud that this is a company where many, many exceptional women and people from diverse backgrounds have risen through our ranks and become leaders,” she added.
Sandberg also oversaw Facebook’s public policy team, which has in recent years been forced to deal with a battered reputation, as a result of the platform being subjected to intense scrutiny from the media and regulators across the globe.
While she played an important role in Facebook’s success, she has also been forced to deal with a fair share of controversies, which saw her public image being tarnished alongside that of Facebook’s reputation, according to a report by The Guardian.
This was mainly as a result of the social media network being the centre of public scrutiny over user privacy issues, fake news, misinformation and hate speech – with growing calls from activists and regulators for Facebook to be subjected to statutory regulation.
While some of Sandberg’s subordinates took to Twitter to praise her leadership style, other Tweeps questioned the legacy she leaves behind.
@dabeard wrote on Twitter: “She was responsible for facilitating 2016 election and #Jan6 misinformation. Behind a culture of surveillance that caused severe emotional problems for teens online, particularly girls.”
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