'Meta's No. 2' Sheryl Sandberg Leaves Meta After 14 Years

Sheryl Sandberg, Meta Chief Operating Officer (COO) [Photo by AP]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Meta Platforms and the 'second-in-command' who played a key role in growing the social networking service (SNS) Facebook into a global company, is leaving Meta after 14 years.

On the 1st (local time), Sandberg COO posted on her Facebook, "When I first took this position in 2008, I planned to serve for five years. Now, 14 years later, it is time to write the next chapter of my life," adding, "I will be leaving the company this fall." She also mentioned that she will spend the next few months transitioning her role and will continue to serve on Meta's board of directors.

Sandberg COO, known as the second-in-command after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, joined in 2008 and played a pivotal role in making Facebook a global SNS. After graduating from Harvard University, she worked at the U.S. Treasury Department during the Bill Clinton administration and then grew Google's advertising business starting in 2001. At Facebook, she designed the core advertising business, helping Facebook grow into a global big tech company generating $120 billion (approximately 150 trillion KRW) in revenue.

In addition, Sandberg COO managed overall business aspects such as partnerships, business development, and operations, allowing Zuckerberg CEO to focus on products. Notably, she handled external communications and appeared before U.S. congressional hearings several times when Facebook was embroiled in scandals related to privacy and content management. Bloomberg News noted, "Meta's policy and advertising organizations have been at the center of many scandals over the years," citing the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the Cambridge Analytica incident, where Facebook allegedly shared personal data with former President Donald Trump's campaign without users' consent, as representative cases.

Sandberg COO did not specify the reasons for leaving the company or her future plans. However, she revealed that she plans to get married this summer, wants to spend more time with her children, and intends to engage in more charitable activities through her foundation, including women's issues. Considered one of the most influential women in the U.S., she is also the author of the book Lean In, aimed at modern feminists.

Following Sandberg COO's announcement, Zuckerberg CEO posted on his Facebook account, "An era has ended," stating, "Sheryl designed our advertising business, hired incredible people, created our organizational culture, and taught me how to run the company." He added, "There are no plans to replace Sheryl's role with the existing structure. She is a superstar who defined the COO role in her own way, so I am not sure if it is possible to replace her," expressing his regret.

Sandberg COO's role is expected to be taken over by Javier Olivan, Chief Growth Officer (CGO). Zuckerberg CEO mentioned the need for organizational restructuring, stating that at this point, it is more reasonable for Meta to operate product and business operations in an integrated manner rather than separately.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.