Sheryl Sandberg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sheryl Sandberg
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Sandberg in 2013
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| Born |
Sheryl Kara Sandberg
August 28, 1969 Washington, D.C., U.S.
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| Education | Harvard University (AB, MBA) |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1991–2022 |
| Title | Chief Operating Officer of Meta Platforms (2008–2022) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Board member of | Meta Platforms Women for Women International Center for Global Development SurveyMonkey |
| Spouse(s) |
Brian Kraff
(m. 1993; div. 1994)Tom Bernthal
(m. 2022) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Jon Bernthal (brother-in-law) |
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Sheryl Kara Sandberg (born August 28, 1969) is an American business leader, writer, and someone who helps others. She was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Meta Platforms (the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp). She stepped down from this role in August 2022. Sheryl Sandberg also started an organization called LeanIn.Org.
In 2008, she became the COO of Facebook, which was a very important job. In 2012, she became the first woman to join Facebook's board of directors. She helped Facebook become very successful by leading its advertising business. Before Facebook, she worked at Google, where she managed online sales and helped with their charity work called Google.org. Even earlier, she worked for Lawrence Summers at the World Bank and later helped him when he was a top official for President Bill Clinton.
In 2012, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2021, Forbes Magazine reported that she was a billionaire because of her shares in Facebook and other companies. In 2022, she announced she would leave her COO role at Meta but stay on its board. In 2024, she decided not to run for re-election to the board.
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Sheryl Sandberg's Early Life and Education
Sheryl Sandberg was born in 1969 in Washington, D.C.. She was the oldest of three children in a Jewish family. Her father was an eye doctor, and her mother taught French in college.
When she was two, her family moved to North Miami Beach, Florida. She went to North Miami Beach High School and graduated in 1987, ranking ninth in her class. She was a class president and a member of the National Honor Society. In high school, she also taught aerobics.
College and Early Work
In 1987, Sandberg started studying at Harvard University. She graduated in 1991 with top honors in economics. At Harvard, she helped start a group called Women in Economics and Government. She also met Professor Lawrence Summers, who became her mentor. Summers hired her as a research assistant at the World Bank. There, she worked for about a year on health projects in India, focusing on diseases like leprosy and HIV/AIDS.
In 1993, she went to Harvard Business School and earned her MBA in 1995 with the highest honors.
Sheryl Sandberg's Career Journey
Starting Her Career
After business school in 1995, Sandberg worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company for about a year. From 1996 to 2001, she worked again for Lawrence Summers. He was then the United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton. Sandberg helped the Treasury with debt relief for developing countries during the Asian financial crisis.
She then joined Google in 2001. At Google, she was in charge of online sales for advertising and publishing products. She also managed sales for Google's consumer products. During her time there, she helped the advertising and sales team grow from just four people to 4,000.
Working at Facebook and Meta Platforms
In late 2007, Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook, met Sandberg at a party. Zuckerberg thought Sandberg would be a "perfect fit" for the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO). In March 2008, Facebook announced that Sandberg would be joining as COO.
When she joined, Facebook was more focused on building a cool website than on making money. Sandberg quickly started working on how to make Facebook profitable. By 2010, Facebook began making a profit, largely thanks to her efforts in advertising. As of 2012, she oversaw many important business areas, including sales, marketing, and human resources.
In 2012, she became the eighth person and the first woman to join Facebook's board of directors.
In 2018, The New York Times wrote about Sandberg's role in handling Facebook's public image after issues like Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
On June 1, 2022, Sandberg announced she would leave Meta as COO in the fall of 2022. She said it was "time for me to write the next chapter of my life." She remained on the board of directors until January 2024, when she announced she would not seek re-election.
Sheryl Sandberg's Other Work
In 2009, Sandberg joined the board of The Walt Disney Company. She also serves on the boards of organizations like Women for Women International and the Center for Global Development.
She has given many important speeches. In 2010, she gave a TED talk called "Why we have too few women leaders." In 2016, she gave a graduation speech at the University of California, Berkeley. In this speech, she talked publicly for the first time about her husband's death and the importance of being resilient.
Lean In Book
Sandberg released her first book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, in March 2013. She wrote it with Nell Scovell.
The book talks about leadership in business and why there are not enough women in top roles in government and business. It also discusses feminism. By the fall of 2013, the book had sold over one million copies and was a bestseller.
Lean In is meant to help professional women reach their career goals. Sandberg believes that women sometimes create their own barriers because of how society views gender roles. She argues that for things to change, women need to break down these barriers by aiming for and getting leadership roles. Her main message is to encourage women to "lean in" to leadership positions. She believes that having more women in power will create fairer opportunities for everyone.
Option B Book
Sandberg released her second book, Option B, in April 2017. She wrote this book with Adam Grant, a professor. The book focuses on dealing with grief and building resilience when facing life's challenges. It gives helpful tips for building strength in families and communities. Over 2.75 million copies of this book have been sold.
Ban Bossy Campaign
In March 2014, Sandberg and her Lean In organization started the Ban Bossy campaign. This campaign used TV and social media to encourage people to stop using the word bossy. They felt this word could harm young girls. Famous people like Beyoncé and Jennifer Garner appeared in videos for the campaign. The campaign also had a website with school materials and tips for leadership.
Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation
In November 2016, Sandberg changed the name of her Lean In Foundation to the Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation. She named it after herself and her late husband. This new foundation supports LeanIn.Org and a new organization related to her book Option B. Sandberg also gave about $100 million in Facebook stock to help fund the foundation and other charity work.
Screams Before Silence
In April 2024, a documentary called Screams Before Silence was released on YouTube. Sheryl Sandberg was the main person featured in this film. She has said that making this film was the most important work of her life.
Sheryl Sandberg's Personal Life
Sandberg married Brian Kraff in 1993, but they divorced a year later. In 2004, she married Dave Goldberg, who was an executive at Yahoo! and later the CEO of SurveyMonkey. They had a son and a daughter together.
On May 1, 2015, Dave Goldberg sadly passed away unexpectedly. His death was later found to be caused by a heart problem.
On February 3, 2020, Sheryl Sandberg announced her engagement to Tom Bernthal, who is a CEO. They got married in August 2022. Tom Bernthal has three children, and Sheryl has two, and they live together in Menlo Park, California.
Politics
Sandberg supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. She has also endorsed Kamala Harris for president in 2024.
Honors and Achievements
Sheryl Sandberg has received many honors throughout her career:
- Fortune Magazine has often ranked her as one of the "Most Powerful Women in Business." In 2007, she was No. 29 and the youngest woman on the list. In 2017, she was ranked No. 5.
- The Wall Street Journal listed her as one of the "50 Women to Watch."
- Business Week named her one of the "25 Most Influential People on the Web" in 2009.
- Forbes has listed her as one of the world's 100 most powerful women. In 2017, she was No. 4.
- In 2012, Newsweek and The Daily Beast ranked her No. 3 in the "Evangelists" category on their "Digital Power Index."
- She was named in the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world in 2012.
Books by Sheryl Sandberg
- Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Knopf. 2013. ISBN: 978-0385349949
- Written with Adam Grant: Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy. Knopf. 2017. ISBN: 978-1524732684
Images for kids
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Sheryl Sandberg's signature
See also
In Spanish: Sheryl Sandberg para niños
