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Silicon Valley mourns popular tech executive

Mourners arrive at a memorial service Tuesday for SurveyMonkey CEO David Goldberg in Stanford, Calif. The 47-year-old husband of “Lean In” author and Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg died in an accident while exercising at a Mexican vacation resort on Friday. (Associated Press)
Janie Har And Brandon Bailey Associated Press

PALO ALTO, Calif. – Tech industry luminaries and friends gathered Tuesday for a memorial service honoring David Goldberg, a popular business leader whose marriage to Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg made them one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent couples.

Mourners emerged from the ceremony held in an auditorium at Stanford University teary-eyed and wearing Minnesota Vikings paraphernalia to commemorate the favorite NFL team of the Minneapolis native.

The 47-year-old Goldberg died Friday while on a family vacation at a villa near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He slipped while exercising on a treadmill in the villa’s gym and struck his head, Mexican officials said.

President Barack Obama extended his sympathies in a post on Facebook this week, joining a number of well-known Silicon Valley figures including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a close friend of both Goldberg and Sandberg.

“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,” Obama wrote on the White House Facebook page. The message drew online thanks from Sandberg, who described her relationship with Goldberg as a supportive, equal partnership in her 2013 book “Lean In,” about the challenges faced by working women.

Goldberg was staying in Mexico with family at an independently owned villa called Palmasola, which features a gym. Villa guests have privileges at the nearby Four Seasons resort at Punta Mita, about 30 miles from Puerto Vallarta, but the villa is not owned or managed by the hotel chain.

Goldberg never entered the main gym at the Four Seasons, which keeps a record of all users, said resort manager John O’Sullivan.

Authorities in the Mexican state of Nayarit, where the villa is located, said an autopsy had ruled out foul play in Goldberg’s death. They noted he suffered a blunt-force injury and a cut on the head but there was no sign of struggle.

Among those attending Tuesday’s memorial in the heart of Silicon Valley were Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, prominent tech investor Reid Hoffman, along with Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman and PayPal co-founder Max Levchin.