Yahoo Finance Sheryl Sandberg engaged: Who’s Tom Bernthal?
Facebook chief operating officer, author and billionaire Sheryl Sandberg has announced her engagement to boyfriend Tom Bernthal, after the two were set up by her late husband’s brother.
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The US$1.6 billion (AU$2.4 billion) executive and Lean In author announced the engagement to her 560,000 followers on Instagram on Tuesday morning, describing Bernthal as her “everything”.
Sandberg was named one of the world’s most powerful women by Forbes, after she pivoted Facebook to become a key platform for small business advertising, boosting ad revenue 38 per cent in 2018.
She took the tech giant from a US$56 million loss to US$22.1 billion profit in 2018, although has also received criticism over the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
Who is Tom Bernthal?
Bernthal, 46, is the CEO of strategic consulting agency Kelton Global which he founded in 2002.
Kelton Global is a marketing research and strategic consultancy where “cultural anthropologists, design researchers, PhD statisticians, and innovators enthusiastically strengthen, grow and support brands”, Bernthal described on his LinkedIn.
Bernthal worked in the Clinton White House between 1993 and 1994, and as a television producer at NBC News from 1996 to 2002.
His journalism work saw him win three Emmy awards for his work at the Today Show, Dateline, Nightly News, MSNBC and CNBC.
He is now described by Kelton as “bringing a journalist’s eye for the human story to the world of insights and strategic marketing”.
He studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
And he has a famous brother: actor Jon Bernthal, who received popular and critical acclaim for his work in Marvel Netflix series’, Daredevil and The Punisher.
Tom Bernthal and Sheryl Sandberg’s relationship
Sandberg, 50, and Bernthal were introduced by Rob Goldberg, the brother of her late husband, SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg.
Dave Goldberg died in 2015 while on holiday in Mexico, leaving Sandberg and their two children.
Sandberg spoke publicly about her grief and wrote a book on the subject, Option B.
"Dave's death changed me in very profound ways," Sandberg wrote. "I learned about the depths of sadness and the brutality of loss. But I also learned that when life sucks you under, you can kick against the bottom, break the surface and breathe again."
Rob Goldberg told People the couple “see the world in the same way”.
“They are blending their families and their lives and that’s a testament to how in love they are. They’re building a future going forward together.”
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