The CEO is significantly expanding his own power with the departure.
(Photo: imago images/UPI Photo)
Power is being redistributed at the world’s largest social network, Meta. Top manager Sheryl Sandberg will leave the company. A number of other positions will be filled. In the end, however, it is all about one thing: one person is clearly expanding his power: Mark Zuckerberg.
Sandberg managed the operational business for over 14 years. When she joined the company, Mark Zuckerberg was 23 years old and Facebook was still a start-up. At that time, the two largely divided the company into two areas: Zuckerberg controlled the product side. Sandberg was primarily concerned with the question of how the platform would make money in the future.
Now Zuckerberg uses Sandberg’s departure to break up the old division. With Javier Olivan, there is someone who will take over the position as Sandberg’s COO. In the new position, however, Olivan will focus more on day-to-day business, and Zuckerberg announced that the areas of products and business must move closer together.
In other words, Zuckerberg is expanding his sphere of influence. This is also reflected in other personnel decisions. In the future, the human resources department and the legal department will report to Zuckerberg. Previously, these important areas were located at Sandberg.
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Ultimately, the conversion is also due to the fact that the meta group is in a deep crisis. But the conclusions that the company draws from this crisis are wrong. Meta has lost around half of its stock market valuation since September 2021. The group is still completely dependent on advertising. But the advertising business has been badly affected since Apple and then Google announced stricter data protection rules.
Three billion users
Almost three billion people use one of the group’s products such as WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook. This is what makes the platform so influential. At the same time, there are no clear answers as to how the company is dealing with the major political problems of the time: with hate speech, targeted disinformation and hate speech. Early reports of sexual assault in the virtual worlds of the Metaverse show that Zuckerberg has learned nothing from Facebook’s past mistakes.
Actually, now would be the time for an intensive debate on the long-term strategy of the company. The Annual General Meeting would be such a place to initiate such a debate.
The annual shareholders’ meeting at the Facebook group took place last week. Investors raised a number of critical points. From the possible promotion of acts of war, sexualized violence or aiding and abetting amok sprees: the allegations went very far.
>>> Also read: Sheryl Sandberg is leaving top job at Facebook company Meta
But Zuckerberg barely responded. He doesn’t have to. All requests from outside were rejected. Zuckerberg isn’t just a founder. He also controls the company with an unassailable majority of votes of 56.9 percent. No one can do anything on Facebook against Zuckerberg’s will.
When it went public in 2008, the construct was celebrated by some analysts and tech experts. One of the interpretations at the time was that it protected a company in the long term from activist investors who were only out for a quick buck. Today it is clear that the large majority of votes held by one person undermines an essential element of a stock corporation: the co-determination of investors.
More: Sheryl Sandberg is leaving top job at Facebook company Meta.