Meta’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said she was stepping down.
San Francisco:
Meta’s second most powerful executive, Sheryl Sandberg, made a shocking announcement Wednesday that she would be leaving after a 14-year stint that included helping Steyr scandal-prone Facebook rise to ad dominance.
Sandberg, 52, has been one of the most influential women in Silicon Valley, and her departure comes at a time when the social media juggernaut faces an uncertain future and fierce competition.
Sandberg said on her Facebook page that she was stepping down as chief operating officer, but would remain on the board of parent company Meta.
“She has taught me a lot and she has been there in many important moments of my life, both personally and professionally,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.
“I’m going to miss running this company with Sherrill.”
News of Sandberg’s departure comes as what started as an online social network rebrands itself to pivot towards the virtual vision it sees as a metaverse for the Internet.
The king of Silicon Valley has since seen his image tainted by allegations that it has been made to harm, benefit user privacy and even the well-being of society.
Meanwhile, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter and even Apple are now competing with Meta for people’s online attention as the Facebook social network is increasingly seen as a place for older people. Is.
Zuckerberg said Sandberg’s role would not be changed at the company, but Javier Olivan would become Meta’s next chief operating officer.
But the next COO will be more traditional, aside from Sandberg’s close second-in-command status, Zuckerberg said.
“I don’t plan to replace Sherrill’s role in the current structure,” Zuckerberg said.
“I’m not sure it will be possible because he is a superstar who has defined the role of COO in his own unique way.”
Meta shares fell more than two percent after Sandberg left, another blow to a stock price that has fallen after worries the company’s regular growth was ending.
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