Facebook announced Monday that it will add Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg to the company’s board of directors, emphasizing Sandberg’s integral role in the newly-public company’s rising success.
Sandberg, who was formerly vice president of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google where she focused on producing revenue from online advertising, now oversees all of Facebook’s business operations, including sales, marketing, public policy and communications. Before her tenure at Google, she was chief of staff at the Treasury Department.
“Sheryl has been my partner in running Facebook and has been central to our growth and success over the years,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder and CEO, in a press release today. “Her understanding of our mission and long-term opportunity, and her experience both at Facebook and on public company boards makes her a natural fit for our board.”
The reaction on Twitter to Sandberg’s appointment was something to the affect of, “She wasn’t on it already?”
Sandberg has been highly successful in her tenure at Facebook during its transformation and recent IPO. From the perception of Silicon Valley, Sandberg was integral in bringing the young company from Zuckerberg’s “boy’s club” to a serious public company.
A Wall Street Journal article this weekend emphasized her role in that transformation, with an early female Facebook employee talking about life inside “the Facebook Frat House,” and Sandberg’s efforts to reduce sexual harassment. Sandberg’s role in moderating sexual harassment in the workplace is particularly pertinent as Facebook has gone public, and prominent venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins deals with a highly-publicized lawsuit from one of its female partners.
Sandberg has also been a notable voicein speaking up for balance in the workplace and advancing women in positions of power in the business world. Her TED talk on “Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders” has gathered more than 1 million views. Stacey Higginbotham wrote for GigaOM how Sandberg’s philosophies toward work-life balance are a good indicator of how the professional class will view the business world going forward.
Sandberg also serves on the boards for The Walt Disney Company, Women for Women International, the Center for Global Development and V-Day.
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