S heryl Sandberg is a highly influential American technology executive, philanthropist, and author who is best known for her role as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Facebook (now Meta Platforms). An alumna of Harvard University, where she earned her MBA, Sandberg began her career as an economist and later served as Chief of Staff for the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Lawrence Summers. She entered the tech world in the early 2000s, joining Google, where she was instrumental in building its hugely profitable online advertising business.

In 2008, Mark Zuckerberg personally recruited Sandberg to become Facebook's COO. Her appointment was a pivotal moment for the young social media company. She was tasked with making the platform profitable, and she did so by architecting and scaling its massive global advertising business, transforming Facebook into one of the most powerful and profitable companies in the world. In 2013, she authored the bestselling book 'Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead,' which sparked a global conversation about women's leadership and ambition in the workplace. After 14 years as COO, she stepped down from her role in 2022 but remains on Meta's board.