Sheryl Sandberg, the second aboard in Meta and who helped establish Facebook as a technological giant throughout the world, announced this Wednesday her resignation as director of operations of Meta.
A Through a Facebook post, the Silicon Valley executive wrote: “Today I share the news that after 14 years I will be leaving the Goal. When I met Mark I wasn’t looking for a new job and I never could have predicted how meeting him would change my life.”
Sandberg says she met Zuckerberg at a holiday party and he told her about his idea that people will post their true selves online to connect with other people. She found the idea so intriguing that they talked about it the rest of the night.
After that party Sheryl had countless dinners and conversations with Mark until he finally offered her a job: “When I was considering joining Facebook my late husband Dave advised me not to jump in and immediately try to resolve all substantive issues with Mark as we will be dealing with so many over time. Instead, you should set the correct process with it. So along the way, I asked Mark for three things – that we sit next to each other, that he would meet with me one on one every week, and that in those meetings he would give me honest feedback when he thought I messed something up.” .
Zuckerberg agreed to all three requests, but added that the feedback would have to be mutual, and to this day Sandberg has met with Mark every week, with immediate and real feedback: “Sit next to Mark during these 14 years has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime. Mark is a true visionary and caring leader. He sometimes he says we grew up together, and we have. He was only 23 years old and I was already 38 when we met, but together we have been through the massive ups and downs of running this company.”
Meta’s COO notes that when she accepted this job at 2008, he expected to be in this position for only five years, and that fourteen years later, it is time to write the next chapter of his life, not knowing what the future holds.
In the text written on his profile, he thanks the thousands of people who work at Meta and with whom he had the privilege of creating products over the last few years 10 years to serve more than three billion people around the world: “More than 200 million businesses they use to create virtual storefronts, communicate with customers and grow. Billions of dollars have been raised for causes people believe in.”
Sheryl Sandberg’s emotional message shows the response of her friend and former boss Mark Zuckerberg, who wrote to her: “The end of an era. In the 14 years we’ve worked together, you’ve shaped our ad business, hired great people, built our management culture and taught me how to run a business. I will miss working by your side every day, but grateful to have you as a lifelong friend. Thank you for everything you have done for me and my family, for our company, and for millions of people around the world. You are a superstar”.
Finally it was revealed that Sandberg will remain on the board of directors of Meta and that Javier Olivín, another company executive, will take over as director of operations when Sandberg leaves office in the fall .
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