Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg put to rest the notion of her serving as Commerce or Treasury secretary under Hillary Clinton (if she wins the Presidential race).
On Tuesday at a Silicon Valley tech conference, Sandberg said, “I’m staying at Facebook,” making it quite certain that she is not leaving the tech giant for a coveted government job, according to Politico.
Sandberg “happy” with her role at Facebook
Sandberg has been rumored for quite some time to be a top candidate for Clinton’s Treasury secretary. This move would return her to an agency where she worked under ex-President Bill Clinton.
When Sandberg was asked again if she was interested in a government job, she repeated, “I really am staying at Facebook,” adding that she is quite happy in her current role.
Brushing off further questions, the Facebook COO said the issues they were there to talk about are related to policy.
“The government matters. I don’t have a job in the private sector thinking government doesn’t matter; it does,” she said at the conference held by the Internet Association.
The Internet Association is a tech lobbying group representing tech companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook.
Sandberg, who is an advocate for women in the broader business community and in Silicon Valley, has been a huge Clinton donor and supporter this year. Also newly leaked emails suggested that Sandberg shared some research with key members of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Government jobs not alien to Sandberg
Since 2008, Sandberg has been serving as Facebook’s chief operating officer. Prior to this, she was working at Google. There have been rumors since last month that Clinton’s campaign was considering Sandberg as Treasury secretary, but Sandberg has denied any desire a government job, insisting that she will not leave Facebook. However, if she does move to Washington, it would not be completely foreign to her. Starting in 1996 prior to joining Google in 2001, Sandberg served as chief of staff for former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
Sandberg would be the first woman to hold the post in the history of the United States if she becomes Treasury Secretary, notes Fortune. This would also be a welcoming and good chapter for a tech executive who has pushed for more opportunities for women in business. Sandberg co-authored Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead in 2013, which was about women in leadership.
