Updated on 5-04-2014 by Jeremy Kaplan: Cause of death information and details on the incident added.
Dave Goldberg, CEO of SurveryMonkey and wife of Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, died of head trauma suddenly on Friday night, his brother Robert announced over the weekend. Goldberg collapsed at the gym in a private villa in Mexico, according to the New York Times, after he apparently “fell off the treadmill and cracked his head open,” the Times reported.
The couple were on vacation when the 47-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur and venture capitalist passed away.
‘Incredible shock’
“It’s with incredible shock and sadness that I’m letting our friends and family know that my amazing brother, Dave Goldberg, beloved husband of Sheryl Sandberg, father of two wonderful children, and son of Paula Goldberg, passed away suddenly last night,” Robert wrote in a Facebook post published on Saturday.
He continued, “In this time of sorrow, we mourn his passing and remember what an amazing husband, father, brother, son and friend he was. No words can express the depth of loss we feel, but we want his children to learn how much he meant to all of you….Sheryl, their children, and our family would be grateful if people would post their memories and pictures of Dave to his Facebook profile.”
SurveyMonkey
Goldberg joined online survey and research firm SurveyMonkey in 2009 as part of a lengthy career in the tech industry that included founding online music startup Launch Media, which was later acquired by Yahoo. Under his leadership, SurveyMonkey grew from 14 employees to around 500, with more than 25 million surveys created across a vast range of topics. The company is currently valued at $2 billion and has Google Ventures among its backers.
In a statement, the company said his “genius, courage and leadership were overshadowed only by his compassion, friendship and heart. Our sympathy goes out to them and to all who were touched by this extraordinary man. We are all heartbroken.”
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg also posted a message, describing Goldberg as “an amazing person” he was glad to have known.
Goldberg lived with Sheryl Sandberg close to Facebook’s HQ in Menlo Park. The pair married in 2004.
