Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg Is Leaving The Company After 14 Years: What Investors Need To Know

Meta Platforms Inc FB shares turned lower Wednesday after the company's COO Sheryl Sandberg announced her resignation.

"Today, I am sharing the news that after 14 years, I will be leaving Meta," Sandberg said in a Facebook post.

Sandberg did not provide a specific reason for her departure from the company, but noted she plans to focus more on philanthropic efforts and spend more time with family.

"When I took this job in 2008, I hoped I would be in this role for five years. Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life," she said.

Sandberg will continue to serve as a member of Meta's board. Meta's chief growth officer Javier Olivan is set to take over as COO following Snadberg's departure, according to a Facebook post from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

"Javi will become our next Chief Operating Officer since he will now lead our integrated ads and business products in addition to continuing to lead our infrastructure, integrity, analytics, marketing, corporate development and growth teams," Zuckerberg said.

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The Meta CEO said Sandberg is almost impossible to replace. Accordingly, Olivan's new role will be a more traditional COO role than Sandberg's. Olivan will be focused internally and operationally in an effort to make the company's execution "more efficient and rigorous."

"I'm sad that the day is coming when I won't get to work as closely with Sheryl. But more than anything, I'm grateful for everything she has done to build Meta," Zuckerberg said.

FB Price Action: Meta shares have traded between $169 and $384.33 over a 52-week period.

The stock was down 2.47% at $188.83 at press time.

Photo: by Michael Wuertenberg via World Economic Forum / Flickr