Marne Levine, Chief Business Officer
Levine.
Courtesy of Meta
Her journey: Levine describes her path to Meta’s chief business officer as “non-linear.” Levine, who has an MBA from Harvard Business School, served as chief of staff to the National Economic Council during the Obama administration and as special assistant to the president for economic policy.
Meta’s potential for growth inspired Levine to make the leap to the private sector, she told Insider in a written statement. At Meta, she served as vice president of global partnerships and business development, vice president of global policy and chief operating officer of Instagram before becoming the company’s first chief business officer last year.
Her advice for female leaders: Levine’s suggestion is simple: Be kind. “It sets the tone, builds community, lifts others up and creates the conditions for you to make a difference,” she said.
However, she added that kindness is not gentleness and goes hand in hand with ambition and competition.
“Kindness is bold and driven,” Levine said. “He speaks truth to power, takes great risks for people and their ideas, and is brutally honest and aggressively kind.”
Furthermore, she said, creating a positive work culture means being open to mistakes. That honesty often brings colleagues together because they must work together to solve the problem, she added.
“As a team leader, you have to model this behavior directly so that others feel they have permission to do it as well,” she said.
