Investing.com - Sheryl Sandberg is not your average chief operating officer.
For one, the Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) executive is worth $1.6 billion, according to Forbes.
She was also U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers' chief of staff for five years.
Sandberg's success story, however, starts early in her life.
Born in Washington D.C, in 1969, she grew up in North Miami Beach, where she graduated from high school as a member of the National Honor Society. In 1991, Sandberg graduated suma cum laude Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in economics from Harvard College. It was there she met Summers, who hired her at t he World Bank after college. Sandberg returned to Harvard in 1993 and earned an MBA with highest distinction.
In 2001, Sandberg got her start in Silicon Valley at Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), where she was vice president of online sales. She joined Facebook as COO in 2008, having met founder Mark Zuckerberg at a Christmas party months before.
Sandberg is partially responsible for Facebook's decision to accept advertising, which helped the social network become profitable in 2010. She joined the company's board in 2012.
Her portfolio at the company reaches far beyond finance, as she also oversees human resources, communications and public policy.
Outside of work, Sandberg founded Leanin.Org, which promotes female leadership, and a foundation, which she funded with $100 million in Facebook stock.