Sheryl Sandberg, who has been chief operating officer of meta platforms (fb.us) for 14 years, announced on Wednesday that she would resign as chief operating officer this fall, but would continue to serve on the company's board of directors. In addition, Javier olivan, chief development officer of meta, will take over as chief operating officer this fall.
It is understood that as the chief operating officer of meta, the parent company of Facebook, whether and when Sandberg will leave has always been one of the most speculated questions of current and former employees of the company in the past few years. However, when Sandberg officially announced his resignation, it still caused an uproar in the whole company and Silicon Valley.
In Sandberg's own words, there are two main factors that prompted her to leave: one is that the senior management team of meta is ready for her to leave; the other is that as the leader of the "lean in" movement, she hopes to pay more attention to philanthropy and women's rights movement.
Who is Sandberg
At the beginning of 2008, Sandberg joined Facebook, becoming the second person besides the CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.
It is understood that Sandberg was born in Washington on August 28, 1969 and was once the chief of staff of the Secretary of the Treasury of the Clinton administration; In 2001, Sandberg joined Google, then a start-up company, as the vice president of Google's global online sales and operations department; Later, he became the chief operating officer of Facebook and was called "the first lady of Facebook" by the media. She was also the first female member to join the Facebook board of directors.
At the same time, Sandberg also used her success on Facebook to improve her image, especially among working women. In 2013, she published the book "moving forward: women, work and the desire to lead", focusing on the challenges women face in the workplace and what they can do to promote their careers.
Regarding Sandberg's resignation, he said: "I am not completely sure what will happen in the future, but I know that I will focus more on my foundation and charity work in the future. Given how critical it is for women at this moment, it is more important for me than ever before." In addition, he said: "I quit my job not because of the regulatory pressure faced by the company, nor because of the current slowdown in advertising business. For my future life planning, I plan to get married this summer, hoping to have more time with my children."
Zuckerberg also wrote on Facebook: "looking forward to the future, I do not intend to replace Shirley's role in our existing framework. I am not sure whether this is possible, because she is a superstar and defines the role of chief operating officer in her own unique way."
What did Sandberg leave for meta
Sandberg said that when he first joined meta, it was very chaotic. The company has some advertising business, but the effect is not good. In addition, the actual management and operation of the company is also a mess.
Later, under the leadership of Sandberg, meta and other social product arrays of the company were reshaped into powerful advertising machines, earning huge revenues and supporting the successful listing of the company. Today, more than 3billion users use meta's products, and more than 200million enterprises have created facebook/instagram stores.
Therefore, it can be said that without Sandberg, maybe the fate of meta would be more like many short-lived social network / social product companies we have heard of. It can even be said that Sandberg has ensured the long-term survival of Google and meta, two representative "cool" companies in Silicon Valley.
Just like her evaluation of Zuckerberg, a company needs people like Zuckerberg who stand in the present and look into the future - of course, the company also needs people like her who can plan and control the overall situation.
What is the origin of the new coo olivine
It is understood that Javier olivan, the chief development officer of meta who took over Sandberg, has managed WhatsApp, instagram and messenger. Compared with Sandberg, one of the most prominent figures in Silicon Valley, the name olivine may be relatively strange to the outside world.
Olivian's instagram is private and has only 17 fans. Since 2018, Olivian has not posted any public post on his Facebook page until Wednesday (June 1). After the announcement of the personnel change, olivin wrote on Facebook: "I want to thank Shirley for what she has done for meta and for what she has done for billions of people around the world who use our products."
However, Olivian's quiet public image does not reflect his influence in the company. He is one of the few senior executives who report to Zuckerberg. He has worked in this social media company for nearly 15 years and has been promoted to the highest level close to Zuckerberg. Five months ago, he joined the company's management as the chief growth officer and vice president of cross meta products and infrastructure.
If Sandberg led the construction of Facebook's advertising business (which still accounts for 97% of meta's total revenue at present), Oliver's performance in global expansion is also commendable. From 2007 to 2011, his first job in the company was in charge of international growth business. According to the first quarter financial report of meta, at present, more than 91% of monthly users come from regions outside the United States and Canada.
It is reported that Olivian's career has been centered on Facebook. In 2008, olivan accompanied Zuckerberg on his appearance at Navarra University. He later joined the internet Org, a project launched by Facebook and other companies in 2013, aims to connect people in less developed countries to Internet services.
By 2015, internet Org provides free Internet services to more than 500million people, connecting 7million people who did not use the Internet before. Olivin, then vice president of Facebook growth, said in an email interview with America quarterly that although Facebook has become a fixed business in Latin America, there is still a lot of room for growth in the region.
For this promotion, Zuckerberg wrote in his Facebook post that Olivian is undertaking integrated advertising and commercial products, while continuing to operate businesses in infrastructure, integrity, analysis, marketing, enterprise development and growth.
Where will meta go in the future
In recent years, meta has been criticized for its great influence, great controversy in preventing the spread of wrong information and harmful materials, and the acquisition of competitors such as instagram and WhatsApp. In the past three years, Zuckerberg and other senior executives have been forced to testify in Congress many times, and the company is still facing antitrust lawsuits from the Federal Trade Commission.
However, Sandberg's resignation comes at a delicate time of meta's development, and his advertising business still accounts for 97% of the company's revenue. Therefore, after the news was released, meta's share price fell. As of Wednesday's close, the stock fell 2.58%. Although meta is still taking the largest advertising business in the social network industry as its pillar, it is rapidly trying to reshape itself into a "meta universe" company through its recent renaming and increased investment in virtual reality and related technologies.
At present, meta's advertising business is still experiencing the biggest challenge so far. The market expects the company's advertising revenue to grow by only 6% this year, compared with the average annual growth rate of 44% in the past 10 years.
Can this "change of general" bring a turning point for meta advertising business or the overall development of the company? The market is waiting to see.