

Later, Sandberg cultivated new systems for Facebook advertisers to pinpoint their potential customers with even more precision. As at Google, many advertisers bought Facebook ads online rather than through sales personnel, as had been typical for TV or newspaper ads. Ads on Facebook were tied to people’s activities and interests on the site. Sandberg spearheaded a plan to build from scratch a more sophisticated system of advertising that was largely based on what she had helped develop at Google. On that score, she succeeded beyond anyone’s dreams. The 23-year-old Zuckerberg hired Sandberg in 2008 to figure out how to build Facebook into a large and lasting business. That suggests that Sandberg’s biggest influence may have been in the past, and that she is no longer as important at Facebook as either her supporters or her detractors believe.Īn architect of transforming digital advertising: It’s also difficult to imagine her departure significantly changing Facebook. But Facebook wouldn’t be what it is today - both good and bad - without the partnership between Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg. Sandberg is not the founder of Facebook, of course. Several of America’s superstar tech companies, including Apple, Amazon, Google and Oracle, have lived through relatively recent transitions in which iconic founders have handed over power to hired hands. And while her 2013 book “ Lean In” kicked off important conversations, some of its ideas now feel outdated.Īs my colleagues wrote, “Sandberg is ending her tenure at Meta far from the reputational pinnacle she reached last decade.” Her writing and advocacy about women in the workplace and grief gave Sandberg influence on topics that few other American executives touched.īut Sandberg was also partly responsible for Facebook’s failures during crucial moments, notably when the company initially denied and deflected blame for Russia-backed trolls that were abusing the site to inflame divisions among Americans ahead of the 2016 U.S.

She helped build the company formerly called Facebook into one of the world’s most influential and wealthy companies. Sandberg, who said on Wednesday that she was quitting Meta after 14 years as the company’s second in command, leaves behind a complicated professional and personal legacy. It’s not clear how history will judge Sheryl Sandberg.
