The scarce number of women in Silicon Valley tech firm C-Suite positions just got smaller with the announced departure of Sheryl Sandberg as chief operating officer at Facebook parent Meta Platforms (FB).
Sandberg, who is Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's number two, informed the company on May 28 that she would resign her position after a transition period, according a Securities and Exchange Commission Form 8-K filing. The exact date of departure was not listed in the filing, but the company's Board of Directors is expected to appoint current Chief Growth Officer Javier Olivan as the new COO, the filing said.
Sanberg Leaves to Focus on Philanthropy Affecting Women
Sandberg told CNBC that she was leaving to personally focus on her philanthropy that particularly affects women, according to a June 1 report.
While Sandberg did not hold a CEO position, she was still one of the most powerful women among the Silicon Valley technology company C-Suites as Zuckerberg's right-hand woman. Meta is also proactive in placing women in C-Suite corporate positions, as women hold five of the 13 C-Suite positions on its website, which is about 38%.
A survey of 11 of the largest Silicon Valley tech firms, which includes Oracle (ORCL) that in December moved its headquarters from Redwood City, Calif., to Austin, Texas, shows that women hold about 32% of C-Suite positions in these companies.
Apple (AAPL) has among the worst representation of women in C-Suite positions, as its CEO Tim Cook, its chief financial officer and chief operating officer are all men. Of the top 12 executives in the Cupertino, Calif., company, two are women -- Senior Vice President and General Counsel Katherine Adams and Senior Vice President of Retail and People Deirdre O'Brien.
Oracle promoted Safra A. Catz to CEO in 2014. She had previously been president and CFO, and is the only woman in the C-Suite. Founder and former CEO Larry Ellison is the chairman and chief technology officer.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) appointed Dr. Lisa Su as CEO in October 2014, and she is currently the only woman among six executives in the Santa Clara, Calif., semiconductor company's C-Suite.
Palo Alto, Calif., computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) has four women among its 13-member C-Suite, including CFO Marie Myers. Its chief people officer is Kristen Ludgate, acting Chief Commercial Officer is Luciana Broggi and its chief of corporate affairs and communications officer is Stella Low.
Cisco Systems (CSCO), the San Jose, Calif., networking provider, has among the best representation of women in C-Suite positions. The company boasts six women among its top 11 executive positions, including Chief Operating Officer Maria Martinez and Chief Legal Officer Dev Stahlkopf.
Google and its parent Alphabet (GOOGL) share Ruth Porat as their CFO, while Google's leadership includes Adaire Fox-Martin, president of international sales, and Kirsten Kliphouse, president of American sales, which accounts for about half of Google's top six executive positions.
San Jose-based eBay (EBAY) has three women among its 11 C-Suite execs, including Chief Legal Officer Marie Oh Huber, Chief Business and Strategy Officer Stefanie Jay and Chief Growth Officer Julie Loeger.
Netflix (NFLX) has two women among its eight C-Suite positions with Chief Marketing Officer Marian Lee and Chief Communications Officer Rachel Whetstone representing at the Los Gatos, Calif. company. Intel (INTC), with 10 C-Suite positions, has one woman, Chief People Officer Christy Pambianchi on the top executive team, while Broadcom (AVGO) with five C-Suite spots has one woman, CFO Kirsten Spears.
Meta Platforms, which rebranded from Facebook on Oct. 28, 2021, will begin trading under the ticker symbol META instead of its longtime symbol FB on June 9.
