Sheryl Sandberg steps down as Meta COO: What she wrote, Mark Zuckerberg’s response

Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down from Meta (previously Facebook) after 14 years on the firm. Sandberg was the chief working officer (COO) on the firm and was famously seen because the second-in-command after Zuckerberg. She was accountable for driving many modifications in Facebook and its different apps, equivalent to Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. She plans to focus extra on her basis and philanthropic work. Sandberg will formally go away the corporate by the autumn of this 12 months. She will proceed to serve on Meta’s board of administrators.

Sandberg has penned an extended publish about her determination to step down on her official Facebook web page. In her publish, she talks about how she met Mark Zuckerberg at a celebration, and she or he ended up speaking to him for the remainder of the night time. Sandberg additionally recounts how she bought a job at then Facebook solely after numerous “dinners and conversations with Mark.” She admits the job was chaotic, provided that Facebook was nonetheless a startup on the time.

“I would schedule a meeting with an engineer for nine o’clock only to find that they would not show up. They assumed I meant nine p.m., because who would come to work at nine a.m.? We had some ads, but they were not performing well, and most advertisers I met wanted to take over our homepage like The Incredible Hulk movie had on MySpace,” she wrote.

She additionally revealed that her late husband Dave instructed her to not try to resolve each problem with Mark, however as an alternative “set up the right process with him.” So she requested Mark Zuckerberg for 3 issues: “that we would 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. Mark said yes to all three but added that the feedback would have to be mutual.”

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“To this day, he has kept those promises. We still sit together (OK, not through COVID), meet one-on-one every week, and the feedback is immediate and real,” she added.

“In the critical moments of my life, in the highest highs and in the depths of true lows, I have never had to turn to Mark, because he was already there,” she wrote.
She additionally wrote about how when she joined Facebook, she had “a two-year-old son and a six-month-old daughter,” and she or he determined to go away workplace by 5.30 pm as she wished to be together with her youngsters. But at a startup like Facebook, this isn’t straightforward. “More out of necessity than bravery, I found my nerve and walked out early anyway. Then, supported by Mark, I found my voice to admit this publicly and then talk about the challenges women face in the workplace. My hope was to make this a bit easier for others and help more women believe they can and should lead,” she wrote.
In her publish, Sandberg has additionally thanked all of the individuals who have labored at Meta together with her during the last 14 years. “When I took this job in 2008, I hoped I would be in this role for five years. Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life. I am not entirely sure what the future will bring – I have learned no one ever is,” she added.

Meta CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg commented on Sandberg’s publish, calling it the tip of an period. “In the 14 years we’ve worked together, you’ve architected our ads business, hired great people, forged our management culture, and taught me how to run a company,” he wrote, including he would miss working alongside her day by day.

“Thank you for all you’ve done for me and my family, for our company, and for millions of people around the world. You’re a superstar,” he added.