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Dave Goldberg Survey Facebook

Dave Goldberg, husband of Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, dies at 47 on holiday

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By Noel Young, Correspondent

May 3, 2015 | 3 min read

Dave Goldberg, chief executive of SurveyMonkey and the husband of Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, died on Friday (1 May) aged 47.

Sandberg and Goldberg: They met in 2001

His death was confirmed by SurveyMonkey, known for its web-based survey technology. The company did not disclose the cause of death.

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Facebook and a friend of the family, said it occurred while Goldberg was on holiday abroad with Sandberg.

His brother, Robert Goldberg, shared news of his death in a Facebook post . He urged people who knew him to post memories and pictures on Goldberg’s memorial Facebook profile.

Tributes poured in from hundreds of people who knew Goldberg as a mentor, colleague or friend.

“To this day, he is the leader and person by which I measure all others,” wrote Karin Gilford, an executive at Disney ABC Television Group who worked with Goldberg at a previous start-up and at Yahoo.

“Dave, I will never ever forget the way you made me feel and the confidence you poured into me that has lasted my entire career. It is hard to imagine this world without you.”

In a statement, SurveyMonkey said: “Dave’s 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.”

Goldberg’s unexpected death touched many at Facebook and across the technology industry. “We are heartbroken by this news,” Facebook said in a statement.

Goldberg was particularly proud of his company’s ability to predict election results through its surveys, noting that SurveyMonkey was sometimes more accurate than traditional pollsters.

He viewed online surveys as an inexpensive way for companies to gather data about their customers and competitors.

“We could tell Google Glass would be a tough sell,” he said in an April interview, . “The cameras made people feel weird, and they thought the look interfered with people, like technology was getting in the way.”

Goldberg and Sandberg lived in Menlo Park, California with their two children. He is also survived by his mother, Paula Goldberg.

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