Meta Platforms Inc.’s Sheryl Sandberg, who became one of the most recognized figures in global business after helping Facebook transform from a startup into a multibillion-dollar advertising powerhouse, is stepping down as chief operating officer.
According to Wednesday’s post, Sandberg (52) will continue on the Meta board, which is the parent company for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Javier Olivan, who has led the company’s growth efforts for years, will take Sandberg’s place as COO when she formally steps down in the fall.
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Sandberg joined Facebook back in 2008, and she was instrumental in turning the social media company into one that generates almost $120billion in revenue. Along the way, she became an influential author—publishing “Lean In” in 2013—and served as the highest-profile face of the company next to Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg. She also answered for Facebook’s privacy and policy missteps over the years, attempting to improve its relationship with the public and regulators.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Sandberg called her time at Meta the “honor and privilege of a lifetime,” but joked that it’s also “not the most manageable job anyone has ever had.”
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“It’s a decision I didn’t come to lightly, but it’s been 14 years,” she said on Wednesday. “I want to make more room to do more philanthropically, to do more with my foundation.”
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