Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook and its parent company Meta, has confirmed her resignation from the position, which she has held for 14 years and during which she has become one of the most powerful figures in the tech world while overseeing the company’s phenomenal growth and numerous controversies.
Sandberg joined Facebook four years after its launch as the adult in the room of a young company. She helps in strategizing the way to monetize the company’s rapidly rising user base. She aided in the transformation of the company’s advertising business strategy, transforming it into the $117 billion revenue giant it is today in 2021. According to Insider Intelligence, the company’s annual sales were under $200 million when it started in 2008.
Sandberg announced the decision in a Facebook post on Wednesday, saying she wasn’t sure what will happen in the future but that she’ll continue to focus on her foundation and philanthropic efforts. “I expected to be in this position for five years when I started in 2008.” “It’s time for me to write the next chapter of my life after fourteen years,” Sandberg wrote on Facebook.
Furthermore, she announced that she will quit Meta this fall but will remain on the board of directors. She commended Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg for his support, adding that “sitting by Mark’s side for over 14 years has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime.”
In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg called it “the end of an era” and said Sandberg “deserved recognition for so much of what Meta is today.” “When Sheryl joined me in 2008, I was only 23 years old and had no experience running a business. Sheryl “designed and implemented” our advertising business, hired fantastic people, created our management culture, and trained me how to run a company,” according to the CEO. He stated that Sandberg’s post will not be filled and that existing responsibilities at the corporation would be restructured.