11.11.22 Today’s Insights about Sheryl Sandberg and Meta – Build the Foundation for Your Strong Career and Personal Brand
Dear Students,
Despite today’s unfortunate news of the first major layoffs at Meta in its 18-year history, there is no question that some truly inspirational stories have emerged from the company’s incredible growth trajectory during that time.
A large part of Meta’s success is credited to Sheryl Sandberg MBA, who stepped down from her COO role this past summer (see attached article). Sandberg was actually named COO, Facebook’s #2 position, in 2008, hardly past her 40th birthday, and not long after meeting Mark Zuckerberg at a party in 2007. June 2012 brought Sandberg’s election to the Facebook Board, as its first woman to serve in this capacity. Later that year, she was named to the Time 100, an annual list of the most influential people in the world. Most significantly, as head of Facebook’s Advertising business, Sandberg is widely heralded for making it profitable.
Not surprisingly, Facebook was not Sandberg’s first foray into technology, as she had been Google’s Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations for over 6 years and was involved in Google.org, its philanthropic arm. Even more intriguing, and less well-known, is that Sandberg had acted as the Chief of Staff for US Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers for the previous 7 years, crossing both sectors and professional functions with her transition.
Sandberg’s outstanding leadership skills were displayed even earlier, though, during stints at both the World Bank and McKinsey (Not to mention the “power skills” she’d honed at Harvard, where she completed both her undergrad and MBA education).
What’s next for Sheryl Sandberg? What’s next for Meta? How can she dissociate herself from her Meta experience?
One thing’s for sure: Sheryl Sandberg has forged her own path and built her own strong reputation, which she will carry with her wherever she goes, into whatever she chooses to do. A solid “personal brand” speaks volumes across the globe, and developing one is a useful strategy for ambitious international students like you to carve out for yourself, as well.