Carolyn Everson’s exit from Facebook this week after more than 10 years came as a shock both to those inside the company and the people she’s impacted across the industry.

People close to her said the VP of Facebook’s global business group was tired of running interference for Facebook and was hurt when the social media giant gave its chief business position to Marne Levine. 

In a Facebook post about her exit, Everson wrote: “I always said no one will ever mention at my funeral the amount of revenue I oversaw. But hopefully one day someone will say my legacy at Facebook was in how I showed up for my team, for our clients and for our industry.”

The legacy she left behind is not lost on the people she’s worked with while at Facebook. At the news of her departure, industry leaders took to social media to praise Everson’s work ethic and her ability to remain loyal to Facebook through its tribulations.    

Marisa Thalberg, exec VP, chief brand officer, Lowe’s

Gerry D’Angelo, VP of global media, Procter & Gamble

Steven Wolfe Pereira, CEO and co-founder, Encantos

“Carolyn Everson is a LEGEND! The love that people have for her is real, and it's because of who she is and how she shows up. Thank you for being a leader. Thank you for being on the front lines and taking the bullets for so many," he wrote on LinkedIn. "Thank you for showing what enlightened leadership looks like, and walking the walk. You are an amazing executive, friend, mother, wife and human being. After an incredible 10+ year run, you deserve to take a bow and a long-overdue break. I can't wait to see what you do next - the sky is the limit!”

Lou Paskalis, chairman, global media and data board, MMA Global

Cindy Gallop, founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn and board advisor at We Are Rosie

Rishad Tobaccowala, previously chief growth officer at Publicis Groupe

“What Facebook said about one Carolyn Everson: ‘We wish Carolyn the best as she moves into a new chapter. We are grateful for her contributions,’ said a Facebook spokesperson in an e-mail statement.

What they should have said not through a spokesperson but via Mark Zuckerberg (and hopefully are probably saying internally) : ‘A heartbeat of our company is moving on to a new chapter after over a decade of amazing service. During this decade Carolyn was a key contributor in building one of the greatest revenue machines ever known," Tobaccowala wrote on LinkedIn. "Carolyn gave everything she had to her team and to her clients. She bit her tongue and was a company loyalist and defender of our cause regardless of the crazy mistakes we made and holes she had to dig us out of. We would not be where we are without this lady. May she soar! Thank you!’”

Hugh Durkin, director, product development at HubSpot

“End of an era. Carolyn Everson inspired so many during her run at Facebook. Always generous with her time, especially for Ads API partners in the early days of the PMD program (now Facebook Marketing Partners).”

Jon Collins, senior manager of digital strategy and innovation, Reynolds American Inc.

“When people see Facebook they see Zuckerberg. But when I see Facebook I think of people like Carolyn Everson. Responsible for steering the success of one of the great revenue machines in history. Completely altering the direction and success of advertising and monetization on Facebook. Taking a minute to forget the debate of whether monetization ruined social media. (A fair debate) 3.5B to 86B in a decade is incredible. It's likely the folks you don't see that are driving the biggest change.”