
As the chief operating officer for Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg is more than just your average social media expert. In fact, she is a business mastermind who has been largely responsible for helping to make the social media giant profitable through its use of advertising.
Born in Washington, D.C., early Sheryl Sandberg appearances in college came at Harvard University, from which she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics, before returning to the school to earn her masters of business administration from Harvard Business School. While at Harvard University, Sheryl Sandberg appearances often came along with her mentor Larry Summers, who helped her secure a place as a research assistant at the World Bank and then as his Chief of Staff in the United States Department of the Treasury when he served as the Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton.
Sheryl Sandberg appearances subsequently took place at Internet giant Google, for which she eventually rose through the ranks to become the company’s vice president of online sales and operations. Sheryl Sandberg’s endorsement of philanthropy helped her assist with the launching of Google.org, the search engine’s charitable side. Eventually, Sheryl Sandberg appearances began taking place for Facebook when company founder Mark Zuckerberg hired her as the chief operations officer. Other businesses that have received Sheryl Sandberg endorsements by having her serve on their board of directors include Starbucks, the Walt Disney Company, the Ad Council, the V-Day foundation, Women for Women International and the Brookings Institution.
With a resume that includes Facebook, Google and the United States Department of the Treasury, not to mention an MBA from Harvard Business School, you could definitely learn a thing or two during a Sheryl Sandberg motivational speaking engagement.
Why you should listen to her:
Long before Sheryl Sandberg left Google to join Facebook as its Chief Operating Officer in 2008, she was a fan. Today she manages Facebook’s sales, marketing, business development, human resources, public policy and communications. It’s a massive job, but one well suited to Sandberg, who not only built and managed Google’s successful online sales and operations program but also served as an economist for the World Bank and Chief of Staff at the US Treasury Department.
Sandberg’s experience navigating the the complex and socially sensitive world of international economics has proven useful as she and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg work to strike a balance between helping Facebook users control privacy while finding ways to monetize its most valuable asset: data.
"Whether you call it “scaling the company” or “managing hypergrowth,” Sandberg is one of the few executives on earth with a demonstrated knack for it. It’s clear why Zuckerberg, in particular, needed her."
Vogue, May 2010