Sheryl Sandberg, the longtime second-in-command at Facebook (now Meta), is stepping down as chief operating officer, leaving behind a complicated legacy at the world’s first dominant social network.

Sandberg made her resignation official today through a post on Facebook. “When I took this job in 2008, I hoped I would be in this role for five years,” Sandberg wrote. “Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life. I am not entirely sure what the future will bring—I have learned no one ever is.”

Meta has grown into an advertising juggernaut since Sandberg joined, when it had almost no ad revenue. In 2021, Meta brought in $115 billion from advertising, and it runs a portfolio of apps that reach 3.6 billion people a month. When Sandberg joined, the company was simply Facebook, but it bought Instagram in 2012 and went public. It also owns Messenger and WhatsApp.

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Last year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg renamed the company Meta. This is part of his plan to focus on services for the coming “metaverse,” which is supposed to be the next-generation computing platform, combining virtual and augmented reality, and it is partly accessible through devices like Meta Oculus gaming goggles and camera-equipped sunglasses.

Sandberg will remain on the board of directors, Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. "You've architected our ads business, hired great people, forged our management culture, and taught me how to run a company," Zuckerberg said of Sandberg.

Javier Olivan, Meta’s chief growth officer, will step into the chief operating officer role, Zuckerberg said. But the role will be different from the one Sandberg crafted as the No.2, where she was initially hired as the so-called “adult in the room” to help guide Zuckerberg, who at the time of her hiring was only 23 years old.

“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. “But this role will be different from what Sheryl has done. It will be a more traditional COO role where Javi will be focused internally and operationally, building on his strong track record of making our execution more efficient and rigorous.”

Now, Meta is restructuring much of the company’s leadership. Meta lost one of its longest-serving ad leaders, Carolyn Everson, who was the head of global business group, last year after she joined Instacart. 

Complicated legacy

However, Sandberg’s legacy is complicated. She was both an inspiring leader for women, famous for coining the phrase “leaning in,” encouraging women in the workplace. The expression was made popular by her 2013 book "Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead." But she also presided over Facebook when it confronted its biggest challenges, and the turmoil raised questions about her leadership.

In 2016, Facebook was accused of being reckless with consumers’ data, allowing third parties like Cambridge Analytica to scrape information about users, and then allegedly use that data to spread political propaganda. The Cambridge Analytica affair led Facebook to settle with the Federal Trade Commission for a record $5 billion. The incident led to years of pressure against Facebook, coming from lawmakers, regulators and civil watchdogs.

“To say it hasn’t always been easy is an understatement,” Sandberg said in her departure notice. “But it should be hard. The products we make have a huge impact, so we have the responsibility to build them in a way that protects privacy and keeps people safe.

“Just as I believe wholeheartedly in our mission, our industry, and the overwhelmingly positive power of connecting people,” Sandberg continued, “I and the dedicated people of Meta have felt our responsibilities deeply.”

Meta was not immediately available for comment for this story.

Zuckerberg did discuss the company’s plans after Sandberg in his Facebook post. “Looking forward, I don't plan to replace Sheryl's role in our existing structure,” Zuckerberg wrote. “I'm not sure that would be possible since she's a superstar who defined the COO role in her own unique way. But even if it were possible, I think Meta has reached the point where it makes sense for our product and business groups to be more closely integrated, rather than having all the business and operations functions organized separately from our products.”