Sheryl Sandberg, the former Chief Operating Officer of Meta, is stepping down from the technology giant’s board of directors, she announced in a Facebook post Wednesday.
“With a heart filled with gratitude and a mind filled with memories, I let the Meta board know that I will not stand for reelection this May,” she wrote. “I will always be grateful to Mark [Zuckerberg] for believing in me and for his partnership and friendship; he is that truly once-in-a-generation visionary leader and he is equally amazing as a friend who stays by your side through the good times and the bad.”
Moving forward, Sandberg said, she will “serve as an advisor” to the company.
“I will always be grateful to my colleagues and teammates at Meta for all the years of working side by side and all they taught me,” she added. “And I am particularly grateful to my fellow Meta board members for their lasting friendships, the guidance they provided me for so many years, and their stewardship of products that mean so much to people all over the world.”
Sandberg worked at Google for the better part of a decade before joining Facebook in 2008 as Zuckerberg’s second-in-command.
The pair shepherded the company through a rebranding—the company is now called Meta, a sign of Zuckerberg’s belief in the metaverse technology he sees as the future—as well as series of controversies in recent years, including the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, its role in spreading misinformation during the twin presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and the COVID-19 pandemic. Meta is also the subject of a high-profile antitrust investigation being carried out by the Federal Trade Commission.
She stepped down as COO of Meta in 2022 and was replaced by Chief Growth Officer Javier Olivan.
Following her message about stepping down from Meta’s board Wednesday, Zuckerberg himself commented on the post lauding Sandberg’s contributions to the company, which has grown to become one of the largest technology firms in the world.
“Thank you Sheryl for the extraordinary contributions you have made to our company and community over the years,” he wrote. “Your dedication and guidance have been instrumental in driving our success and I am grateful for your unwavering commitment to me and Meta over the years. I look forward to this next chapter together!”
Sandberg is also the head of LeanIn.org, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering women in the workplace.
