“It was the shot heard ’round Silicon Valley: Internet upstart Facebook, Inc. raided search giant Google, Inc. for a No. 2 executive it hoped would turn the social-networking Web site into a major moneymaker,” declared the Los Angeles Times (March 5, 2008). The individual in question was Sheryl Sandberg (MBA ’95), “one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent women executives, with a powerhouse résumé that includes a stint as chief of staff at the U.S. Treasury Department during the Clinton administration.”

As vice president for global online sales and operations, Sandberg ran Google’s lucrative advertising arm, which generates more than half its revenue and employs thousands of people. In addition to developing an advertising network for Facebook, she will be in charge of marketing and human resources. “Facebook represents one of the most exciting opportunities there could be, if not the most exciting opportunity,” Sandberg said.

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