- Title: Analyst reflects on Sheryl Sandberg's "instrumental" impact on Meta
- Date: 1st June 2022
- Summary: DAVOS, SWITZERLAND (FILE - JANUARY 23, 2019) (REUTERS) SANDBERG, AND JOURNALIST AND MODERATOR, UWE JEAN HEUSER, WALKING UP TO PANEL FOR DISCUSSION AUDIENCE SANDBERG SPEAKING ON COMPANY SANDBERG AT END OF SPEECH
- Embargoed: 16th June 2022 00:23
- Keywords: COO Chief Operating Officer Facebook Mark Zuckerberg Meta Sheryl Sandberg
- Location: PORTLAND, OREGON, UNITED STATES; NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS; DAVOS, SWITZERLAND; BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: PORTLAND, OREGON, UNITED STATES; NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS; DAVOS, SWITZERLAND; BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: USA
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA009220201062022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Meta Platforms Inc FB.O Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, whose close partnership with Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg powered the growth of the world's biggest social network, is leaving the company after 14 years, she said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (June 1).
The announcement initially sent the social media firm's shares down 4%, but the stock was nearly flat in after hours trade.
The second-in-command to founder Zuckerberg, she is one of the most visible executives at the company and the lead architect of its often-criticized ads business model.
Brian Wieser, the global president of business intelligence at GroupM, told Reuters via Zoom "Well clearly Sandberg has been instrumental in the rise of Facebook and now Meta's business much as she was critical for Google in earlier stages of that business. Where we are now is that the company has certainly matured in good and bad ways and so certainly there's a legacy there of having built up that infrastructure that makes the company the second larger seller of advertising on the planet."
Sandberg's departure marks an end of an era for Facebook-owner Meta, which is shifting its focus toward hardware products and the "metaverse" after years of scandals over privacy abuses and the spread of conspiratorial content on its platforms.
Wieser said "It's certainly clear based on all the comments and the plans for investment, not withstanding any minor set-backs that they may have announced that they are definitely trying to prioritize all things Metaverse going forward so there's a difference in the company but I think it's pure speculation to get really into the specifics of the timing outside of anything they've said. We just don't have a good reason to know anything beyond what's been said publicly."
Chief Growth Officer Javier Olivan will take over as chief operating officer, Zuckerberg said in a separate Facebook post, although he added that he did not plan to replace Sandberg's role directly within the company's existing structure.
Sandberg said in her post that she will continue to serve on Meta's board after leaving the company in the fall.
Prior to joining Facebook, Sandberg was vice president of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google, chief of staff for the United States Treasury Department under former President Bill Clinton, a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, and an economist with the World Bank.
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