Sheryl Sandberg’s Tenure at Meta Was Controversial. Her Impact on Its Ad Revenue Was Not

January 18, 2024—It’s the end of an era: Sheryl Sandberg is leaving Meta's board.

Her legacy may be complicated and controversial, but the role she played in making Meta one of the world's largest ad businesses can't be denied.

When Sandberg joined in 2008, Facebook had just $267 million in worldwide ad revenue. Two years later, revenues soared to nearly $1.9 billion, as Facebook started to become a must-buy for advertisers. By the time she left her fulltime COO role in 2022, worldwide ad revenues had rocketed to nearly $114 billion.

I have every eMarketer report I wrote in her early days. Looking back, I am struck by the legacy Sheryl Sandberg leaves behind. No, it hasn’t always been positive, and the company's ad business has been tested in recent years by tough economic conditions, Apple's privacy changes and new challenges from competitors such as TikTok.

As 2024 begins and AI takes hold, Sandberg's departure truly signifies a defining moment for Meta and for the history of digital advertising. The next era of Meta will be determined by how well the company adapts and changes as AI transforms advertising. I believe Meta's current leadership has the chops to do it - but even with the best execution possible, we won't see anywhere near the rocketship growth in ad revenue we saw during Sandberg's tenure.