Report: Internal Probe by Meta Played Role in Sheryl Sandberg's Decision to Step Down

© AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana- In this Sept. 5, 2018, file photo Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on 'Foreign Influence Operations and Their Use of Social Media Platforms' on Capitol Hill in Washington
- In this Sept. 5, 2018, file photo Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on 'Foreign Influence Operations and Their Use of Social Media Platforms' on Capitol Hill in Washington - Sputnik International, 1920, 03.06.2022
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Meta* Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg recently shocked the tech world when she announced she would be stepping down from her post in the fall. An exact date has not been given for her exit from the company.
According to the Wall Street Journal, one contributing factor for her decision may have been revealed: she was the subject of an internal probe looking into whether she misappropriated corporate resources to plan her upcoming wedding.
Sandberg will be marrying her fiancée marketing consultant Tom Bernthal in the summer.
The soon-to-be former Meta COO reportedly felt burned out, and as if her every move was being scrutinized. Sources also told The Journal she felt like she became a “punching bag” for the company’s problems, and that some of that criticism she faced may have been motivated by sexism.
“She sees herself as someone who has been targeted, been tarred as a woman executive in a way that would not happen to a man,” a source who reportedly worked alongside Sandberg for years said. “Gendered or not, she’s sick of it.”
The report also noted the internal probe was still active as of May. It is not publicly known if it is still ongoing.
Sandberg joined Meta in 2008 when it was still called “The Facebook.” After coming onboard, she built the marketing department that has since become Meta’s primary source of revenue. Despite a massive stock price drop early this year that resulted in the company losing 40% of its value, Meta is still valued at over $544 billion, making it the 8th most valuable company by its market capitalization rate in the world, according to companiesmarketcap.com.
Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer and Member of the Board, Facebook, USA; Young Global Leader Alumnus gives a statement during the session 'Women in Economic Decision-making' at the Annual Meeting 2013 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 25, 2013.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 01.06.2022
Sheryl Sandberg to Leave Meta After 14 Years With Company
This probe is the second known inquiry the social media giant has launched on Sandberg during her 10-plus years with the company. Previously, the company looked into reports that she tried to squash a Daily Mail story about her then boyfriend Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.
A Meta spokesperson has stated that “none of this has anything to do with [Sandberg’s] personal decision to leave.”
Sandberg, The Journal notes, has also had to deal with difficulties associated with combining her and Bernthal’s families ahead of the wedding – combined they have five children – along with mental health issues after some family members caught COVID-19 recently.
After announcing her decision to leave Meta, multiple Meta executives, including CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, offered high praise for the departing executive. Zuckerberg called it “the end of an era.”
Sandberg will remain on Meta’s board of directors. She will be replaced in her role as COO by current Meta chief growth officer Javier Olivan.
*Meta is banned in Russia
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