Sheryl Sandberg to leave board Facebook-parent company Meta’s board

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Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down from the board of Meta almost two years after quitting her executive position at the company formerly called Facebook.

“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 said in a Facebook post, adding that it was the “right time to step away” and that she would serve as an adviser to the company.

Sandberg joined Facebook in 2008 as Mark Zuckerberg’s top deputy, and became a board member of the company four years later after seeing Facebook’s exponential growth from start-up to becoming one of the world’s most valuable companies.

She was a prominent face of the and was one of the pioneers of Facebook’s advertising-driven business model.

She stepped down as Meta’s chief operating officer in May 2022 following multiple controversies, such as the spreading of disinformation in the 2016 election and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Since leaving Meta, the 54-year-old has dedicated her time over the last two years to her LeanIn.org nonprofit, which aims to empower women in the workplace.

The Harvard graduate has also authored several books, which include her 2013 feminist manifesto ‘Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead’.

Prior to her role at Meta, she worked at Google as its vice-president of online sales and operations and chief of staff for the US Treasury Department under former president Bill Clinton.

“Thank you Sheryl for the extraordinary contributions you have made to our company and community over the years,” Zuckerberg wrote in reply to her standing down.

“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!”