Sheryl left her job at Google to become the COO of Facebook where she now juggles the tasks of monetizing the world’s largest social networking site while keeping its users happy and engaged. Today she manages Facebook’s sales, marketing, business development, human resources, public policy and communications. It’s a massive job, but one well suited to Sandberg, who not only built and managed Google’s successful online sales and operations program but also served as an economist for the World Bank and Chief of Staff at the US Treasury Department. Sandberg’s experience navigating the complex and socially sensitive world of international economics has proven useful as she and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg work to strike a balance between helping Facebook users control privacy while ?nding ways to monetize its most valuable asset: data.
Her 2013 bestseller, “Lean In,” won famous fans including Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Beyonce, spawned thousands of Lean In Circle support groups, inspired a spin-off, “Lean In for Graduates,” published in 2014, and a Sony Pictures movie deal. “Lean In” makes the point that the many gender biases that still operate all over the workplace, excuses and justifications won’t get women anywhere. Instead, believe in yourself, give it your all, “lean in” and “don’t leave before you leave” — which is to say, don’t doubt your ability to combine work and family and thus edge yourself out of plum assignments before you even have a baby. Leaning in can promote a virtuous circle: you assume you can juggle work and family, you step forward, you succeed professionally, and then you’re in a better position to ask for what you need and to make changes that could benefit others.
Sheryl holds an MBA from Harvard, and resides on several boards including The Walt Disney Company, Women for Women International, and the Center for Global Development. Sheryl lives in Menlo Park, California and is a mother of two.