Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg to hold meeting of ‘Lean In’ NGO in Tel Aviv
August 14 session will discuss female empowerment and creating resilience; visiting COO will also attend inauguration of FB’s new space for startups in Tel Aviv
Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter
Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg will hold a Lean In networking meeting in Israel during her visit in August for a family trip, a person familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel, confirming an earlier Calcalist report.
In addition, earlier this month it was confirmed that Sandberg will take part in the inauguration ceremony of the US social media giant’s new space for startups and businesses, called Playground, in Tel Aviv, also in August.
Lean In is a nonprofit organization set up by Sandberg, named for her 2013 book by the same name dealing with women and leadership. The nonprofit aims to “help people of every gender pursue their dreams without bias or other barriers holding them back,” the Lean In website says, with an emphasis on empowering women globally.
The meeting, in Tel Aviv on August 14, will be open only to the local network of over 200 members, headed by Rachel Ben Shoshe, the NGO’s regional leader. They will discuss women in the workforce and how to increase equality and resilience, the person familiar with the matter said.
There are now more than 43,000 Lean In Circles in over 170 countries, the NGO’s website says.
As chief operating officer, Sandberg, 49, is in charge of Facebook’s business dealings, including the ads that make up the bulk of the company’s revenue. She has helped steer Facebook from a rising tech startup into a global business with revenues of almost $56 billion in 2018.
Together with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, however, Sandberg has also been in the line of fire as Facebook has faced a number of scandals involving fake news, elections interference, hate speech, and a privacy scandal.
Facebook has R&D as well as sales activities in Israel.
