Sandberg plans to focus on her foundation and philanthropic work DUBAI: Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook"s parent company Meta, has announced that she will step down from her role later this year. She will, however, continue to be a board member. Sandberg joined Facebook in 2008 as CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg’s right hand and has been instrumental in turning the company into one of the most influential and powerful organizations in the world. “I’m going to miss running this company with Sheryl. But I’m glad that she’ll continue to serve on our board of directors so we can benefit from her wisdom and experience even after she transitions out of her day-to-day management role in the coming months,” Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post. He added that he was not planning to replace Sandberg’s role. “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.” Javier Olivan, Meta’s chief growth officer, will take over as COO but his scope of work will be different from Sandberg’s. “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,” said Zuckerberg. Sandberg, too, announced her departure in a Facebook post. She expressed the joy and pride she felt working at Meta but added: “The debate around social media has changed beyond recognition since those early days. To say it hasn’t always been easy is an understatement. 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.” Commenting on her plans, she said: “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. But I know it will include focusing more on my foundation and philanthropic work, which is more important to me than ever given how critical this moment is for women.”