Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down as chief operating officer of Facebook-parent Meta, the company confirmed on Wednesday.
In a post on Facebook, Sandberg did not disclose the reason for her departure from the company, which will take place in the fall. Sandberg said she planned to focus on her philanthropic work going forward.
She has worked for the company for 14 years.
“The debate around social media has changed beyond recognition since those early days. To say it hasn’t always been easy is an understatement,” Sandberg wrote. “But it should be hard. The products we make have a huge impact, so we have the responsibility to build them in a way that protects privacy and keeps people safe.”
Sandberg will continue to serve on the company’s board of directors, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a separate Facebook post.
Javier Olivan, the company’s Chief Growth Officer, will become its next COO, but his role will be “different from what Sheryl has done” and “a more traditional COO role,” Zuckerberg added.
“I think Meta has reached the point where it makes sense for our product and business groups to be more closely integrated, rather than having all the business and operations functions organized separately from our products,” he said.
In partnership with Zuckerberg, Sandberg helped grow Facebook’s revenue from roughly $150 million in 2007 to more than $3.7 billion in 2011, the year before it went public. She also gained new prominence as one of the most influential women in tech.
– CNN
