While Zuckerberg named Javier Olivan, a longtime executive, to take over Sheryl Sandberg's job when she departs, the importance of the chief operating officer role has diminished at Meta, which was formerly known as Facebook
A name card for Sheryl Sandberg, then the chief operating officer of Facebook, before she testified at a Senate hearing in Washington, Sept. 4, 2018. When Sandberg, 52, said that she would step down from Meta, she crystallized an unspoken change at the tech giant: Mark Zuckerberg no longer has any clear No. 2. (Eric Thayer/The New York Times)
For more than a decade, Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg began and ended each week by meeting together.
The symbolism of the ritual was clear. It was intended to signal that Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, and Sandberg, the chief operating officer, were in lockstep with each other at the top of the company.
But when Sandberg, 52, said Wednesday that she would step down from Meta this fall, she crystallized an unspoken change at the tech giant: Zuckerberg no longer has any clear No. 2.
While Zuckerberg named Javier Olivan, a longtime executive, to take over Sandberg’s job when she departs, the importance of the chief operating officer role has diminished at Meta, which was formerly known as Facebook. Zuckerberg, 38, instead has four executives who have equally large responsibilities and who answer to and run major decisions by him.
Zuckerberg made the structural shift because he wanted to consolidate his control over all arms of the company, three people close to him said. While Zuckerberg has always been the undisputed boss, with a majority of the company’s voting shares, he shared power with Sandberg when he was a younger businessman and needed help expanding the company. But with more than 18 years of experience under his belt, he wants to exercise all of his power and be identified more clearly as Meta’s sole leader, the people said.
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