Sheryl Sandberg's husband, Dave Goldberg, dies suddenly

Katharine Lackey | USA TODAY

Dave Goldberg, SurveyMonkey CEO and husband of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, died suddenly Friday night, his family announced Saturday. He was 47.

"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," Goldberg's brother, Robert, wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

SurveyMonkey confirmed Goldberg's death. "Dave's genius, courage and leadership were overshadowed only by his compassion, friendship and heart," the company, which provides online surveys, said in a statement. "His greatest love was for his family. Our sympathy goes out to them and to all who were touched by this extraordinary man. We are all heartbroken."

In a statement, Facebook also said it was heartbroken by the news. Dave Goldberg's account was changed into a memorialized page. The cause of his death was not released.

"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," Robert Goldberg wrote.

"In lieu of donations, we want to celebrate his life in a manner that respects the family's privacy as they cope with this tragic, life changing event: Sheryl, their children, and our family would be grateful if people would post their memories and pictures of Dave to his Facebook profile."

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who shared Robert's post, wrote: "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 joined SurveyMonkey in April 2009. He recently celebrated his sixth anniversary with the company by tweeting, "Today is my 6 year anniversary at SurveyMonkey- we help people make better decisions and this was one of my best decisions."

In 1994, Goldberg founded LAUNCH Media, which delivered music and music-related content online. The company was purchased by Yahoo! in 2001, with Goldberg serving as vice president and general manager of Yahoo! Music, according to his profile on SurveyMonkey.com.

From 2007 to 2009, Goldberg served as an entrepreneur in residence with Benchmark Capital, where he evaluated investment opportunities for the firm and advised portfolio companies, according to the profile.

Before his death, Goldberg was serving on the board of directors at FilmTrack, Graham Holdings Co. and the non-profit New Schools Venture fund. He was a Harvard University graduate.