Sheryl Sandberg to inaugurate Facebook’s new space in Tel Aviv
Spokesperson for the social media giant in Israel confirms COO will attend August launch of Playground, which will be used for activities by startups, artists, businesses
Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter

Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl 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 in August, a spokesperson for the firm confirmed on Monday.
The news of her attendance was first published in the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
Playground, located within the Rothschild Boulevard premises of Facebook, will be a dedicated space open to startups, developers, communities using the platform, artists and businesses, the company said in an emailed statement. The space will host events and training programs.
The inauguration of the space will be held in conjunction with the launch of a startup program set up by the social media giant, to help firms in the consumer technology business that have a proven demand for its products to grow.

Each year 13 startups will be chosen to take part in the program’s four tracks: product management, marketing, management and technology development, the statement said. Each cycle will last about four months.
The selected startups will be mentored and followed by Facebook employees from the company’s R&D center in Israel and abroad as well as key players in the tech sector and VC firms.
Facebook has already selected the companies for its first cohort: Modli, EquityBee, Lumen, Elemento, Shookit and Venn.
Sandberg, who has been the second in command to the social media giant’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and who is considered one of the most powerful figures of the tech world, will be coming to Israel on a private family visit and not for business reasons, the website Calcalist said last month. Facebook has R&D as well as sales activities in Israel.
As chief operating officer, Sandberg 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.
Sandberg, 49, has written two books, including 2013’s “Lean In” about women and leadership. Her second book, “Plan B,” is about dealing with loss and grief after her husband died unexpectedly in 2015.