Husband of Facebook's Sandberg died on treadmill: official

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, whose husband, tech executive David Goldberg, apparently died after falling on a treadmill and striking his head at an upscale resort in Mexico, authorities said Monday. PHOTO | FILE 

In Summary

• Goldberg sustained "severe head trauma and haemorrhaging," and died at a medical center in Nuevo Vallarta, the official added.
• Mexican officials on Monday confirmed he died in hospital after a workout accident during a family trip to a Pacific coast resort in Punta Mita, in Nayarit state.

By AFP
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MEXICO CITY

US tech executive David Goldberg, the husband of Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, apparently died after falling on a treadmill and striking his head at an upscale resort in Mexico, authorities said Monday.

Goldberg, 47, was the chief executive of online polling firm SurveyMonkey and husband of ...

Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg. He died suddenly Friday, according to his brother, who did not give a cause of death.

Mexican officials on Monday confirmed he died in hospital after a workout accident during a family trip to a Pacific coast resort in Punta Mita, in Nayarit state.

"His relatives have indicated that he went to work out, and that they became concerned when he did not come back," an official at the state prosecutor's office said.

SEVERE TRAUMA

"They went looking for him and found him in a pool of blood next to a treadmill, apparently after he fell and struck his head at the hotel gym," the official said, declining to be named.

Goldberg sustained "severe head trauma and haemorrhaging," and died at a medical centre in Nuevo Vallarta, the official added.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Goldberg was "an amazing person".

"I am glad I got to know him. My thoughts and prayers are with Sheryl and her family," Zuckerberg wrote in a posting.

Aside from her work at tech firms, Sandberg is the author of Lean In, a best-selling memoir presented as a modern feminist manifesto that urges women to work to succeed in juggling their careers and family life.

President Barack Obama remembered Goldberg as what he called a leader who always tried to empower others.

"He was generous and kind with everybody, and cared less about the limelight than making sure that the people he worked with and loved succeeded in whatever they did," Obama tweeted.

"His skills as an entrepreneur created opportunity for many; his love for his family was a joy to behold, and his example as a husband and father was something we could all learn from. We're heartbroken by him leaving us far too soon — but we celebrate a remarkable legacy," the president wrote.