Months after leaving Meta, its former COO Sheryl Sandberg seems to be embroiled in controversies and thus making the headlines. Just days after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg distanced his association with her, Sheryl Sandberg is now facing sanctions from a Delaware judge. But who is Sheryl Sandberg and what is the whole controversy surrounding her? Read on to know more:
Who is Sheryl Sandberg?
Born on August 28, 1969, in Washington D.C., U.S., Sheryl Sandberg is a technology executive, author and philanthropist. A graduate from Harvard Business School (1993–1995), Sheryl Sandberg is best known for serving as the chief operating officer (COO) of Meta Platforms till August 2022. It was in 2008 when Sheryl Sandberg was first made the COO at Facebook, and in June 2012 she was elected to the company’s board of directors– thus becoming the first woman to be a part of it. Sandberg served as the head of the company’s advertising business, and was credited for making Facebook (now Meta) profitable.
Prior to working in Meta, Sandberg worked as the Vice President of global online sales and operations at Google and was involved in its philanthropic arm Google.org, as per Wikipedia. And before this, she worked with Lawrence Summers at the World Bank as a research assistant, and as his chief of staff when Summers was the United States Secretary of the Treasury under Bill Clinton.
Apart from this, Sheryl Sandberg is the Founder of LeanIn.Org. In 2016, she renamed her Lean In Foundation, a part of LeanIn.Org, to the Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation, after herself and in the memory of her late husband.
She has also authored two books, namely: ‘Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead’ in 2013 which was co-authored by Nell Scovell, ‘Option B’ in 2017 which is co-authored with Adam Grant.
Sheryl Sandberg’s personal life
Sheryl Sandberg married Brian Kraff in 1993, but a year later the couple got divorced.
In 2004, Sandberg married Dave Goldberg and the couple has two children together: a son and an daughter. However, their marriage came to end when Dave Goldberg suddenly died in 2015 due to arrhythmia, a heart condition.
Sandberg then dated Bobby Kotick- CEO of Activision Blizzard, from 2016 to 2019.
In February 2020, Sandberg got engaged to Kelton Global, CEO Tom Bernthal. Sandberg had shared the news on Facebook, and a few months later, in August 2022, Sandberg and Kelton Global got married. While Bernthal has three kids, Sandberg has two; the couple and their children live in California.
What is the controversy surrounding Sheryl Sandberg
In a bid to build stronger bonds with US President Donald Trump, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is said to have shifted the blame on Meta’s former COO Sheryl Sandberg for the company’s inclusive policies, reported the New York Times. It suggested that Zuckerberg had said this in a meeting with Stephen Miller, who is Trump’s advisor, in 2024.
Meanwhile, Sheryl Sandberg is making news yet again– this time for facing sanctions by a judge in Delaware. The reason: Sandberg is accused of deleting emails related to the Cambridge Analytica case. The sanctions stem from a shareholder lawsuit filed in 2024 against Sandberg and former Meta board member Jeff Zients. The lawsuit alleges that they violated the law and their fiduciary duties by using personal email accounts to discuss Facebook’s privacy practices.
