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, saying only that it was unexpected.
"We are deeply heartbroken to say our CEO and friend, Dave
Goldberg passed away last night," a SurveyMonkey spokeswoman
said.
A former Yahoo Inc. executive, Mr. Goldberg, joined SurveyMonkey
in 2009 and expanded 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 was known for his 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 Minneapolis 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, an online music
service Mr. Goldberg founded in 1994.
He joined Yahoo in 2001 when it acquired Launch Media. 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." He wrote that Mr. Goldberg later "became one of my first
customers and helped teach me how to raise my first round of
VC."
"Dave Goldberg was an amazing person and I am glad I got to know
him," Mr. Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.
Doug Clark, director of product development at Disney/ABC
Television Group, wrote on Mr. Goldberg's 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."
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.
Write to Deepa Seetharaman at Deepa.Seetharaman@wsj.com
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