Executive Spotlight: Who Is Javier Olivan, Meta's Chief Operating Officer? (2027)
Javier Olivan is the Chief Operating Officer of Meta. He oversees the company's business, operations and partnerships teams, along with central products and functions for its apps and wearables, and he manages its advertising and business products.
He has spent nearly two decades at the company, which he joined in 2007 when it was Facebook, and he took the COO role in August 2022 after Sheryl Sandberg stepped down.
This page uses public professional information only.
Current role and company
Meta's leadership page lists Olivan as Chief Operating Officer. It says he drives corporate growth and manages the company's advertising and business products, in addition to the business, operations and partnerships teams and the central products and functions for Meta's apps and wearables.
- TitleChief Operating Officer, Meta (per Meta's leadership page).
- PredecessorSheryl Sandberg, who stepped down in 2022 after 14 years as COO.
- Tenure at the companyJoined Facebook in October 2007, per Wikipedia; Meta's page says nearly two decades.
Career path
- Before Facebook. Worked as an R&D engineer at Siemens in Munich, at NTT Data in Tokyo, and as a product manager at Siemens Mobile, where Meta says he led a cross-functional team launching handsets worldwide.
- Education. Master's degrees in electrical and industrial engineering from the University of Navarra and an MBA from Stanford University.
- 2007. Joined Facebook as head of international growth, after finishing his MBA.
- 2011 to 2018. Led the growth team as vice president, then took on trust and safety in 2018, per Wikipedia.
- 2018 to 2022. Vice president of Central Products, then chief growth officer.
- August 2022. Became Chief Operating Officer, succeeding Sheryl Sandberg.
- January 2025. Also took on business operations for Reality Labs in a reorganization, per Wikipedia.
What he is known for
- International growth. Meta says that as chief growth officer he led international expansion and managed growth, integrity, ads and commerce across its platforms.
- Acquisitions. Meta's page says he oversaw major acquisitions including WhatsApp.
- Succeeding a long-serving COO. He moved from growth into the operating role in 2022, widening his remit to the whole business side of the company.
- Outside roles. Wikipedia lists a current seat on the Endeavor Global board, a past Mercado Libre board seat, and a 2014 Henry Crown Fellowship from the Aspen Institute.
Leadership style and philosophy
The pages we read contain no first-person interview or talk text, so we do not quote him. The public record we could confirm is about scope: his career moved from international growth to integrity and central products, then to running business and operations.
Key numbers
These are company-wide Meta figures from its third quarter 2026 results release, as read on October 31, 2026. They describe the company he helps run, not his personal results.
- Revenue$64.60 billion for the three months ended September 30, 2026, up 26% year over year (company-reported).
- Family daily active people3.64 billion on average for September 2026, up 3% year over year (company-reported).
- Headcount66,775 as of September 30, 2026, down 15% year over year (company-reported).
What to watch next
Worth tracking: how Meta's advertising and business products perform each quarter, how the Reality Labs operations he took on in 2025 develop, and any change to the COO remit.
Questions people ask
Who is Javier Olivan?
He is Meta's Chief Operating Officer, a role he took in August 2022 after nearly 15 years at the company, which he joined in 2007.
What is Javier Olivan's current role?
Chief Operating Officer of Meta, per the company's leadership page.
What does Meta's COO oversee?
Per Meta, Olivan oversees business, operations and partnerships teams, central products and functions for apps and wearables, and manages advertising and business products.
What did he do before becoming COO?
He was chief growth officer, leading international expansion and growth, integrity, ads and commerce, and earlier led the growth team after joining as head of international growth in 2007.
Where did Javier Olivan study?
He holds master's degrees in electrical and industrial engineering from the University of Navarra and an MBA from Stanford University, per Meta.
Sources
- Meta: Javier Olivan, leadership · Current title, responsibilities, career, education
- Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results · Revenue, daily active people, headcount
- Wikipedia: Javier Olivan · Pointer for career dates and boards
- Wikimedia Commons: Javier Olivan in 2022 · Hero photo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Facts were read from the linked pages on October 31, 2026. Some pages were read through a fetch tool that returns summaries, so confirm details on the original page. The hero photo is by Christopher Michel under CC BY-SA 4.0, centered on a card. This page covers public professional information only.