Sheryl Sandberg will leave the board of Meta, Facebook’s parent company, less than two years after leaving her executive position there. In 2008, when Facebook was still a startup, chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg was one of the board members who helped shape and strengthen the company’s digital advertising business model. The news was posted on her Facebook page by the 54-year-old, who announced her resignation as Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2022 after serving in the capacity for more than 14 years. Expressing that “the Meta business is strong and well-positioned for the future, so this feels like the right time to step away.” Sheryl Sandberg will be resigning from Meta’s board in May 2024.
Although she is relinquishing her board position, Sandberg will maintain ties with Meta by serving as an advisor and pledging ongoing support to the company’s teams, as mentioned in her post. She expressed gratitude to Mark Zuckerberg, acknowledging him as a visionary leader and a steadfast friend who stood by her during both joyful and challenging times. Zuckerberg reciprocated the sentiment in a comment, expressing anticipation for the next chapter together.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO and founder of Meta, expressed anticipation for “a new chapter together.” Sandberg, formerly the right-hand woman to Zuckerberg, held a prominent position as one of the company’s most controversial executives who faced various oppositions. And was the subject of intense public argument during her tenure, including the Cambridge Analytica scandal and concerns about user data mining for advertising purposes.
Prior to joining Facebook, Sandberg worked as Bill Clinton’s chief of staff at the US Treasury Department and as vice president of Google. Her 2013 best-selling book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, was met with praise and criticism. A generation of working women was inspired by the book, despite criticism that it ignored the difficulties faced by women of color and single parents. Notwithstanding the controversies, Sandberg continues to be a well-known and prosperous figure in corporate America, shattering stereotypes in a traditionally male-dominated field.
