Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down from the board of Meta Platforms after 12 years but will remain as an informal adviser to the social media and technology company.
In a post on Instagram, illustrated with smiling pictures of her with Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s founder and chief executive, Sandberg said: “The Meta business is strong and well-positioned for the future, so this feels like the right time to step away.
“I will always be grateful to Mark for believing in me and for his partnership and friendship; he is that truly once-in-a-generation visionary leader.”
One of the top women in Silicon Valley and a stalwart of Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, Sandberg, 54, stepped down as its chief operating officer in 2022 after more than 14 years in the role.
She was brought into Facebook at a pivotal time when it had just matured beyond the start-up stage. While Zuckerberg had created a global company with an enormous number of users of its social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp, as well as vast amounts of data, he and his investors had not yet managed to generate money from the traction it had built.
With her experience as an executive at Google, she created the revolutionary advertising model for the social network, which became the default for the social media industry and unlocked its enormous financial success.
Before entering the world of technology, she was chief of staff to Larry Summers, the economist, at the World Bank and when he was Treasury secretary under President Clinton.
Sandberg blazed a trail in the technology industry, where senior women are still rare, and for those working in business more broadly with her bestselling book Lean In, which advised women how to get ahead in the corporate world. It spawned a charity called Lean In Girls, which runs a leadership programme for teenagers.
Zuckerberg said in response to Sandberg’s post: “Your dedication and guidance have been instrumental in driving our success. I am grateful for your unwavering commitment to me and Meta over the years.”
The Meta board is chaired by Zuckerberg, 39, and has eight other members, including Marc Andreessen, an early investor in Facebook and one of Silicon Valley’s best-known venture capitalists. It is not yet clear whether Sandberg will be replaced.
Nicola Mendelsohn, the head of global advertising relationships at Facebook, responded to her post saying: “I’ve learnt so much from you over the years and I am so grateful to you and for our friendship.”