Happy Birthday Sheryl Sandberg: Thanks For Making Facebook So Awesome!

On her 54th birthday today, here are a few amazing yet less know facts about the extraordinary achievements of Sheryl Sandberg, the former COO of Meta (Facebook) and the founder of LeanIn.Org.

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Sheryl Kara Sandberg, a prominent figure in the tech industry, is a visionary leader known for her instrumental role in shaping the success of two billion-dollar companies, Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META). With a remarkable blend of innovation and leadership, she has earned recognition as the 22nd Most Powerful Woman by Forbes in 2021 and 17th Self-Made Woman in America in 2023. Sheryl Sandberg, with a $1.7 billion net worth, is the former COO at Meta, the parent of Facebook and the founder of LeanIn.Org.

Facebook, although deeply rooted in engineering, fundamentally revolves around the mission of connecting people and empowering them to share their lives while maintaining control over their shared content. With a staggering 3 billion monthly active users and 2 billion daily active users, these numbers stand as a testament to the collaborative efforts of Sheryl Sandberg, who oversees critical areas like sales, marketing, business development, human resources, and communications, and Facebook itself, a company now valued at over $1 trillion. Their collective achievements have reshaped the way we connect and share in the digital age.

Name: Sheryl Kara Sandberg
Date of Birth: August 28, 1969
Net Worth: $1.9 billion (As of August 2023)

Of the really rewarding and extraordinary achievements of Sheryl Sandberg, some interestingly, yet less-known facts, about Sheryl are worth noticing. Here they are:

  1. Sheryl Sandberg consistently held the top position in her class, showcasing her academic excellence. Beyond her role as a stellar student, she also ventured into teaching aerobics during the 1980s, even while she was in high school.
  2. As the eldest sibling, Sheryl shouldered responsibilities and took the lead in organizing play sessions for her younger siblings. Her parents highly appreciated her leadership qualities during this time.
  3. During her school days, there was a time when Sheryl fell ill with a fever. Despite receiving the necessary medication and care, her father firmly believed that fever should never be a reason to skip school, and he promptly sent her off to class.
  4. In 1991, Sheryl achieved the prestigious John H. Williams Prize, recognizing her as the top graduating student in economics at Harvard College.
  5. Collaborating closely with her mentor and thesis adviser, Professor Larry Summers, during her school days, Sheryl Sandberg was drawn into assisting him with the World Bank Project. This opportunity led her to work for approximately a year on health initiatives in India, focusing on tackling challenges related to AIDS, leprosy, and blindness.
  6. Larry Summers, also then United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton, appointed Sheryl Sandberg as Chief of Staff. This significant role came after Sheryl had completed her Harvard Business School M.B.A. with the highest distinction, showcasing her exceptional qualifications.
  7. Before joining Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg dedicated six years as Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google. During this period, she played a pivotal role in the launch of Google’s philanthropic website, Google.org. Notably, Eric Schmidt served as her mentor, and Sheryl continues to express her gratitude for his enduring career guidance.
  8. During her interview with Mark Zuckerberg for a position at Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg demonstrated her sharp negotiation skills by openly discussing her intention to utilize those skills to negotiate her compensation. This strategic move showcased her astuteness and ability to advocate for herself effectively.
  9. In 2008, Sheryl joined Facebook as COO (Chief Operating Officer). Later, in 2012, she became the eighth member of Facebook’s board of directors, which also made her the first female member.
  10. In 2009, Sheryl Sandberg secured a position on the board of the Walt Disney Company. Additionally, she became a member of the Board of Directors of Starbucks, earning an annual salary of $280,000 for her contributions.
  11. In 2016, she was in the 7th place on Forbes’s list of ‘World’s Most Powerful Women‘. Currently, she is the world’s 17th most powerful woman.
  12. On the 50 “Women to Watch” in 2007 by The Wall Street Journal, Sheryl ranked 19th.
  13. Sheryl made the 15th place on the list of ‘America’s Richest Self-Made Women‘, released by Forbes in 2021.
  14. 2012 saw Sheryl among the Time Magazine’s Time 100 annual list of most influential people in the world. She has also been ranked among the 50 “Most Powerful Women in Business” by Fortune Magazine. She has been on one list or the other consistently since 2007.
  15. In 2020, Sheryl was ranked 8th on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business.
  16. In October 2012, Sheryl had nearly US$790,000,000 in about 34 million Facebook stocks, of which, in August 2013, she sold 2.4m shares in the company worth US$91 million. By the end of it, she was left with 5% of her total stake in the company. She sold more of her shares again in April 2014 until she was left with just about a 0.5% stake in the company.
  17. Sandberg’s advice to young men and women is to never decide on a job based purely on its designation, as that does not mean anything when it comes to work. She asks people instead to focus on their skills and cultivate gender equality when with peers.
  18. In 2013, Sheryl Sandberg published a bestselling book “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead“, about how stereotyping has affected women internally to lean back and not take as many initiatives, causing barriers preventing women from taking leadership roles in the workplace, be it raising their hands, bringing up genuine issues or even negotiating their appraisals. She does see breaking that social stigma and bringing equality both at the workplace and at home, a key aspect of future growth.
  19. In April 2017, Sandberg released her second book “Option B”. The book digs deeper into the lives of a diverse group of people who have overcome obstacles, identifies the best ways to communicate with and assist others in crisis, and provides practical advice for building resilient families, communities, and workplaces.
  20. Sheryl Sandberg’s influential book, ‘Lean In,’ has been translated into practical action through her initiative, LeanIn.org. One notable expression of this is the creation of ‘Lean In Circles,’ which serves as a platform for empowerment and support. Among these circles, one that particularly stands out and makes her immensely proud is the group of fathers who have formed a Circle to empower their daughters, encouraging them to seize opportunities and break down barriers in their paths.

With such a wonderful career and thought of an equitable society, we strongly feel Sheryl and her ‘Lean In’ movement would make a considerable impact in reforming the rules of the corporate game and societal mindset to allow more women to share the stage with men, get appreciated and be heard in board rooms and bring about a positive change.

Sheryl Sandberg, we wish you this, and many more amazing birthdays to come, showering you with great health and happiness, to achieve a lot more visionary objectives and empower a lot more leaders like you.

Happy Birthday, Sheryl Sandberg!

The post is a part of a B’day Series where we celebrate the birthday of renowned personalities from Tech Industry, very frequently. The series includes Entrepreneurs, C-level Executives, innovators or renewed leaders who moved the industry with their exponential skill set and vision. The intent is to highlight the person’s achievements and touch base the little known, but interesting, part of his life. You can see the list of all earlier celebrated tech personalities, including Mark Zuckerberg, Marissa Mayor, Sean Parker, Andy Rubin, Julian Assange, Sir Richard Branson, and Sergey Brin by following this link or subscribing to your daily newsletter.

To make it more exciting, we suggest you make use of the comment section if you are among the ones celebrating their birthday with today’s featured personality.

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