Who is Dave Goldberg? Cause of Death & Other Facts to Know About Sheryl Sandberg's Husband

  • comments
  • print
  • email
May 05, 2015 06:52 AM EDT

Dave Goldberg collapsed and died of accidental head trauma while exercising at a gym in a Mexican resort at Punta Mita, according to a spokesman. He also reportedly suffered from blood loss when he fell off the treadmill and hit his head. He was found by his brother, Robert Goldberg, on the gym floor at around 7 p.m. Goldberg was rushed to Hospital San Javier where he later died, New York Times reported.

Dave Goldberg was the chief executive of SurveyMonkey and the husband of Facebook Inc.'s Chief Operating Officer, Sheryl Sandberg. His death was announced by his brother, Robert, through a Facebook post and in SurveyMonkey last Saturday, according to the article.

According to Reuters, Goldberg was known for his great sense of humor. He was a well-regarded entrepreneur as the SurveyMonkey grew into a $2 billion business under his leadership. Together with his wife, Sheryl, they were described as one of Silicon Valley's most prominent power couples, according to NY Times.

The unexpected death of Goldberg prompted the outpouring of tributes from his digital colleagues. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, posted a tribute on his personal page:

"Dave Goldberg was an amazing person and I am glad I got to know him. My thoughts and prayers are with Sheryl and her family. I hope friends will join me in celebrating his life by sharing your memories of Dave on his profile, as his brother Rob suggests."

Goldberg's Facebook profile has been turned into a memorial page where remembrances and pictures of the father-of-two are encouraged to be shared.

Goldberg was on a holiday with his wife as well as their other family and friends at a private beach villa in Punta Mita, Mexico. He was raised in Minneapolis and graduated from Harvard with a degree in history and government in 1989. He became head of Yahoo! Music in 2001 and began dating Sandberg during that time. They were married in 2004 and had two children together. Sandberg has not made any public statement regarding her husband's death.

His family plans to celebrate Mr. Goldberg's life on Tuesday at Stanford Memorial Auditorium on an invitation-only basis. The celebration discouraged men from wearing ties "in keeping with Dave's lifelong hatred of ties," according to the emailed invites sent to the couple's friends.

"Out of respect for the family, please do not take pictures or post to social media," the invitation said, as reported by the NY Times.

Join the Conversation
Real Time Analytics