Sheryl Sandberg to step down from Meta board

Former chief working officer of Meta Sheryl Sandberg is leaving the corporate’s board of administrators.

Ms Sandberg, one of the high-profile girls within the tech trade, stated that “this feels like the right time to step away” as Meta is “well-positioned for the future”.

She will function a casual advisor to the corporate going ahead.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg thanked her for the “extraordinary contributions” to the corporate.

Ms Sandberg joined the agency when it was a small startup named Facebook. A veteran of Google, she helped flip its promoting enterprise right into a revenue powerhouse, as the corporate grew to incorporate Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.

Her books, together with Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead – which she described as a “sort of feminist manifesto” – made her a worldwide movie star.

The firm additionally confronted large criticism underneath her watch, together with misinformation throughout the 2016 election, the Cambridge Analytica privateness scandal in 2018, and the Capitol riot in 2021.

She posted about her departure in a Facebook put up on Wednesday, saying she has a “heart filled with gratitude and a mind filled with memories”.

She stated that serving at Facebook and Meta’s COO for over 14 years and a board member for 12 years was “the opportunity of a lifetime”.

Shortly after Ms Sandberg’s announcement, Mr Zuckerberg responded with a brief reply.

“Thank you Sheryl for the extraordinary contributions you have made to our company and community over the years,” he commented on her put up. “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.”

Meta is going through new challenges as nations tighten social media rules and iPhone maker Apple adjustments its privateness guidelines, hitting the social media agency’s focused advert enterprise.

Growth within the variety of Facebook customers in key markets, such because the US, has been stalled, and it has misplaced youthful customers to rivals reminiscent of TikTok.