Dave Goldberg

Dave Goldberg
Photograph by Christopher Michel
Born David Bruce Goldberg
(1967-10-02)October 2, 1967
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died May 1, 2015(2015-05-01) (aged 47)
Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico
Alma mater Harvard University (BA)
Occupation CEO of SurveyMonkey
Years active 1989–2015
Spouse(s) Sheryl Sandberg
(m. 2004–2015, his death)
Children 2
Parent(s) Mel & Paula Goldberg

David Bruce Goldberg (October 2, 1967 – May 1, 2015) was an American management consultant and businessman. He was the founder of LAUNCH Media and the CEO of SurveyMonkey. He was married to Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.

Early life and education

Goldberg was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 2, 1967 and grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[1] His mother, Paula Goldberg, is co-founder and executive director of the Pacer Center, and his father, Melvin Bert "Mel" Goldberg (1942–1998), was associate dean and professor at the William Mitchell College of Law.[1] He interned at the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper while in high school.[2] He graduated from Blake School in Minneapolis in 1985,[3] and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1989, majoring in history and government.[4] Goldberg was an enthusiastic Minnesota Vikings fan throughout his life.[5]

Career

Goldberg worked for Bain & Company for two years after graduating from college. He had planned to attend law school but instead joined Capitol Records, where he served as director of marketing strategy and new business development.[6][7] He founded LAUNCH Media in 1994, and led it through its acquisition by Yahoo Inc. in 2001.[7] He quit Yahoo in 2007 and joined Benchmark Capital. He then joined SurveyMonkey in 2009.[4]

Personal life

In 2004, Goldberg married Sheryl Sandberg. The couple had two children and lived in Menlo Park, California.[4] Prior to his death he and Sheryl were active philanthropists, signing The Giving Pledge.[8]

Death and memorials

On May 1, 2015, Goldberg died suddenly while vacationing with Sandberg at a private beach-front villa near the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in Punta Mita, Mexico; he was pronounced dead at a hospital in Nuevo Vallarta. According to the Nayarit State Prosecutor's Office, Goldberg fell off a treadmill while exercising at a gym and died after suffering head trauma and blood loss.[4][9][10] However, autopsy results revealed that Goldberg suffered from coronary artery disease, which caused a fatal arrhythmia.[11][12]

Goldberg's brother, Robert, described his family's "incredible shock and sadness," in an online post asking well-wishers to post photos and memories to his Facebook profile page. "In lieu of donations, we want to celebrate his life in a manner that respects the family’s privacy as they cope with this tragic, life-changing event," Robert Goldberg wrote. Tributes to Goldberg were posted to social media across the Silicon Valley community. A spokesperson for Facebook said its executives were "heartbroken by this news." Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, said in a post that Goldberg was "an amazing person and I am glad I got to know him." "One of the truly great people on the planet, Dave was of almost unimaginably remarkable character," said Dick Costolo, Twitter’s chief executive. "One of kindest and most generous friends I’ve known," said Jeff Weiner, chief executive of LinkedIn.[4][13]

Professional poker player Phil Helmuth, who was a friend, donated his historic 14th World Series of Poker bracelet to Goldberg's family.[14]

A memorial service for Goldberg was held at Stanford Memorial Auditorium on the Stanford University campus on May 5, 2015. The 90-minute service was attended by many members of what Fortune described as "the elite of Silicon Valley," as well as U2 frontman Bono, who performed his song "One," and actor Ben Affleck, who had worked with Goldberg when Goldberg served on the Board of Directors of a company he co-founded called Live Planet and on a philanthropy project for The Eastern Congo Initiative by helping Affleck raise funds for the non profit.[15]

Sheryl Sandberg, Goldberg's wife, wrote a Facebook post with an essay commemorating Goldberg 30 days after his death (sheloshim period), talking about her own struggle overcoming the grief of his death and the support that her loved ones had given her in this difficult time.[16] The post was liked by more than 900,000 people, shared 400,000 times, and received over 70,000 comments. It was also discussed in Business Insider[17] and the New York Times.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 Coppola, Gabrielle; Frier, Sarah (May 2, 2015). "David Goldberg, 47, SurveyMonkey CEO, Sandberg Husband, Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Web Executive David Goldberg Dies at Age 47". The Wall Street Journal. May 3, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015. (Subscription required (help)).
  3. ↑ "David Goldberg, Silicon Valley CEO with deep ties to Minneapolis, dies at 47". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. May 3, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Goel, Vindu; Hardy, Quentin. "Dave Goldberg, Head of Web Survey Company and Half of a Silicon Valley Power Couple, Dies at 47". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ Grant, Adam (May 10, 2015). "Remembering Dave Goldberg, the Ultimate Mensch". Pulse. LinkedIn. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  6. ↑ Swisher, Kara (April 20, 2009). "Former Yahoo Music Exec Dave Goldberg to Head SurveyMonkey". All Things D. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Bort, Julie (May 2, 2015). "Dave Goldberg had an incredible life — but it wasn't easy". Business Insider. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  8. ↑ givingpledge.org
  9. ↑ Goel, Vindu; Archibold, Randal C. "Dave Goldberg, Silicon Valley Executive, Said to Have Died After Exercising". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Silicon Valley's Dave Goldberg died after gym accident". BBC News. May 5, 2015.
  11. ↑ "SurveyMonkey CEO David Goldberg's autopsy results suggest different picture". May 6, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  12. ↑ http://nordic.businessinsider.com/sheryl-sandberg-martin-seligmans-3-ps-helped-me-cope-with-my-husbands-death-2016-5/
  13. ↑ Bradshaw, Tim (May 2, 2015). "Silicon Valley entrepreneur David Goldberg dies". Financial Times. Retrieved May 4, 2015 – via MSN.com.
  14. ↑ Holloway, Chad (June 9, 2015). "Phil Hellmuth Wins Record 14th WSOP Bracelet After Capturing $10K Razz Title". Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  15. ↑ Lashinsky, Adam (May 5, 2015). "Tears and laughter at a celebration of Dave Goldberg's life". Fortune. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  16. ↑ Sandberg, Sheryl (June 3, 2015). "Today is the end of sheloshim for my beloved husband". Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  17. ↑ Shontell, Alyssa (June 3, 2015). "Sheryl Sandberg wrote a beautiful essay about the sudden death of her husband and dealing with grief". Business Insider. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  18. ↑ Goel, Vindu (June 4, 2015). "Sheryl Sandberg's Post on Late Husband Sets Off Meditations on Grief". New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
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