Sheryl Sandberg is an American business leader, billionaire, writer and philanthropist. In 2012, she was named to the Time 100, an annual list of the world's most influential people. She was also named one of the 25 most influential people on the web, and U.S. Fortune magazine has repeatedly (from 2007 to 2010) ranked her among the 50 most powerful and influential women in business.
A graduate of Harvard Business School, she worked for one year, from 1995 to 1996, as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company. From 1996 to 2001, she worked as Chief of Staff for Lawrence Summers, the U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton, and participated in the Treasury's work on debt cancellation in developing countries during the Asian financial crisis.
In 2001, she joined Google as vice president of online sales for advertising and publishing products, as well as sales operations for Google's consumer products and Google Book Search. She is also responsible for the philanthropic arm of Google.org. During her time at the company, she grew the advertising and sales team from 4 people to 4,000.
In 2008, she was named COO of Facebook (Meta Platforms), becoming the second highest ranking executive at the company. Following her appointment, Sandberg quickly looked for a way to make Facebook profitable. At first, the company was primarily interested in building a "really cool" site, assuming that profits would follow. Facebook executives agreed to rely on advertising via "discreetly presented ads," allowing the platform to become profitable in 2010.
As head of the company's advertising business, Sandberg was credited with that profitability. She oversaw business operations, including sales, marketing, business development, human resources, public policy and communications.
In 2012, she was elected to Facebook's board of directors, becoming the eighth person and the first-ever woman to serve on the board.
Last June, Sandberg announced plans to step down as COO of Meta Plateforms in the fall of 2022, but said she would still remain on its board. Indicating the reason for her departure, she said, "it's time for me to write the next chapter of my life."
In 2009, Sandberg was appointed to the board of directors of the Walt Disney Company. She also serves on the boards of several organizations:
- Women for Women International, a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides practical and moral support to women survivors of war. The organization helps these women rebuild their lives after the devastation of war through a program that provides direct financial assistance and psychological support. The program also includes life skills training (such as literacy and numeracy), rights awareness, health education, vocational training, and small business development, as needed.
- The Center for Global Development, a nonprofit think tank based in Washington, D.C., and London that focuses on international development.
- V-Day, a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls, launched by author, playwright and activist Eve Ensler. Since its launch, thousands of V-Day events have taken place, raising more than $100 million to fund anti-violence programs around the world, as well as events in more than 200 countries. The V-Day movement helped launch and support One Billion Rising, the largest annual mass action in history to end violence against women, as well as the City of Joy in the Congo, "a transformational leadership community for women survivors of violence...owned and operated by local Congolese."
Sheryl Sandberg is also the founder of LeanIn.org. Founded in 2013, and also known as the Lean In Foundation, it is a nonprofit organization whose goal is "to offering women the ongoing inspiration and support to help them achieve their goals," and wants to support women in three main ways: community, education and circles.
Since its launch, more than 380,000 women and men have joined the Lean In community, creating 34,000 Lean In Circles in over 157 countries to date.
The organization is also responsible for annual national campaigns such as #BanBossy and #LeanInTogether, designed to accomplish Lean In's goals and build partnerships. The Lean In Foundation also develops an annual Women in the Workplace Survey in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, which examines women's leadership and diversity management in U.S. corporate organizations.
In 2013, Sandberg published her bestseller Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, a book encouraging women to be assertive at work and at home.
The book discusses leadership and business development, issues related to the lack of women in government and corporate leadership positions, and feminism. As of fall 2013, the book had sold more than one million copies and topped bestseller lists since its launch.
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead is for professional women to help them achieve their career goals and for men who want to contribute to a more equitable society. The book asserts that barriers, such as discrimination, blatant and subtle sexism, and sexual harassment, still prevent women from assuming leadership roles in the workplace.
Sandberg believes that in order for change to occur, women must break through these societal and personal barriers by striving for leadership roles. The ultimate goal is to encourage women to lean into leadership positions, as she believes that by having more female voices in positions of power, more equitable opportunities will be created for all. "A truly equal world would be one where women ran half our countries and companies and men ran half our homes. […] we're failing to encourage women to aspire to leadership. It is time to cheer on girls and women who want to sit at the table, seek challenges, and lean in to their careers."
https://leanin.org/
https://optionb.org/
https://www.womenforwomen.org/
https://www.cgdev.org/
https://www.vday.org/