By Deepa Seetharaman
David Goldberg, the chief executive of online-questionnaire
provider SurveyMonkey and husband of Facebook Inc. Chief Operating
Officer Sheryl Sandberg, died suddenly Friday night. He was 47
years old.
Mr. Goldberg's brother posted the news on Facebook Saturday
morning and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a friend of the family,
shared the post shortly after. The companies and family didn't
disclose the cause of Mr. Goldberg's death, only saying that it was
unexpected.
"We are deeply heartbroken to say our CEO and friend, Dave
Goldberg passed away last night," a SurveyMonkey spokeswoman
said.
"Dave Goldberg was an amazing person and I am glad I got to know
him," Mr. Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.
Mr. Goldberg, a former Yahoo Inc. executive, joined SurveyMonkey
in 2009 and grew the closely held company from 12 employees to more
than 450. The company was valued at close to $2 billion as part of
a $250 million fundraising round late last year intended to help it
break into the corporate market.
Mr. Goldberg joined Yahoo in 2001 when it acquired Launch Media,
an online music service Mr. Goldberg founded in 1994. After leaving
Yahoo and before joining SurveyMonkey, he worked as an
entrepreneur-in-residence at Benchmark Capital, a venture-capital
firm.
Over the weekend, hundreds of friends and former colleagues paid
tribute to Mr. Goldberg on Facebook and Twitter, sharing photos,
videos and stories about his mentorship, poker playing and marriage
to Ms. Sandberg. Many referred to him by his nickname, Goldie.
"He spent so much time helping me asking for nothing in return,"
wrote Ric Fulop, a general partner at North Bridge Venture
Partners, on Mr. Goldberg's Facebook page. "The world needs more
people like Dave."
Mr. Fulop wrote that when he dropped out of college in 1995, Mr.
Goldberg was "one of the few folks who would listen to my crazy
ideas." Mr. Fulop wrote, Mr. Goldberg later "became one of my first
customers and helped teach me how to raise my first round of
VC."
Doug Clark, director of product development at Disney/ABC
Television Group, wrote on Facebook page about attending the
Country Music Awards with Ms. Sandberg's parents, who described
their son-in-law as a "really special guy."
"I remembered thinking to myself at the time, I hope my
soon-to-be in-laws will feel the same way about me," Mr. Clark
wrote. "Dave, you were loved by those that mattered the most. Thank
you for everything."
Many took note of Mr. Goldberg's outspoken support of his wife's
efforts to promote equal pay and treatment for women in the
workplace. Ms. Sandberg, who wrote the book "Lean In" and has been
Facebook COO since 2008, has repeatedly described her husband's
support as crucial in helping her accomplish her career goals while
having a family.
"The most important career choice you'll make is who you marry.
I have an awesome husband, and we're 50/50," she said at a 2011
conference in New York.
Mr. Goldberg grew up in South Minneapolis, Minn., and interned
at the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper while in high school
before attending Harvard University.He was a consultant before
jumping to Capitol Records and later starting Launch Media.
Mr. Goldberg is survived by his wife, two children, brother,
Robert and mother, Paula, who runs the nonprofit Pacer Center,
which provides health services to children with disabilities. Mr.
Goldberg's family urged friends to donate to the Pacer Center.
"We are heartbroken by this news," a Facebook spokeswoman
said.
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