Tech exec Dave Goldberg, husband of Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, dies at 47

Tech entrepeneur Dave Goldberg, the husband of high-ranking Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, died Friday at 47.

The death was announced by his brother, Robert, and in a statement from Goldberg’s company, SurveyMonkey.

No details were given about his death except that it was “sudden.”

Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and the author of the bestseller “Lean In,” which examined the current status of women in corporate cultures and offered solutions to empower female executives.

Goldberg is also survived by their two children.

Companies with which Goldberg held positions include Launch Media, which he cofounded, Yahoo and Capital Records.

Robert Goldberg, on his Facebook page, said that in lieu of donations, the family asked that people post their memories of his brother to a memorial Facebook profile.

Goldberg and Sandberg first met in Los Angeles in 1996, where they both were working. He told The Times in a 2013 interview that although she was dating someone else at the time, they remained good friends, even after she took a job in Washington, D.C., where she served as the Treasury secretary’s chief of staff.

Six years after meeting, they started dating. In 2004, they married.

“On the day-to-day stuff we both ask each other for advice,” he said. “But it is great having one of the smartest people in business as your partner. I don’t have to make an appointment to ask what you think about this or whatever, it’s good with my team. I always say, ‘Well Sheryl said.’ ”

On his approach to running a company, Goldberg told The Times that he believed CEOs had to give people the space to make mistakes.

“You want to hire great people and give them the opportunity to fail. You need to let them figure things out as they go along,” he said. “If they fail repeatedly, then you probably have to find a different person, but if you don’t let people have that opportunity to fail, they don’t get to learn and grow and try things.”

Goldberg, like his wife, emphasized the need to balance work and life.

“I am at home with my kids from 6 to 8,” he said. “If I have a work dinner, I’ll schedule to have dinner after 8. But we’re working at night. You’ll get plenty of emails from me post-8 p.m. when my kids go to bed.”

A full obituary will appear at latimes.com/obits.