Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg on Thursday announced that she was stepping down from her post after 14 years.

In a social media post, Sandberg said that she had joined the company, formerly known as Facebook, in 2008 and had planned to stay for just five years.

“Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life,” she wrote. “I am not entirely sure what the future will bring – I have learned no one ever is. But I know it will include focusing more on my foundation and philanthropic work, which is more important to me than ever given how critical this moment is for women.”

Sandberg will leave Meta in the autumn but will continue to serve on the company’s board. Chief Growth Officer Javier Olivan will replace Sandberg.

A Harvard graduate, Sandberg worked at Google before joining the Mark Zuckerberg-led company, reported the Associated Press.

Sandberg led Facebook’s advertising business and helped the company grow into an over $100 billion-a-year (more than Rs 7.75 lakh crore-a-year) firm. She has also played a key role in making decisions related to controlling misinformation and hate speech on the platform.

Zuckerberg described Sandberg’s departure as the “end of an era”.

The Facebook chief said that he was only 23 years old when Sandberg joined the company and he barely knew anything about running a business.

“Sheryl architected our ads business, hired great people, forged our management culture, and taught me how to run a company,” he said in a Facebook post. “She created opportunities for millions of people around the world, and she deserves the credit for so much of what Meta is today.”