Penelope Trunk, an entrepreneur and “geek feminist” who blogs about careers and business, has speculated openly that the sudden death of Dave Goldberg, CEO of SurveyMonkey and husband of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, was a suicide.
Trunk bases her speculations on the fact that no cause for death was reported. And she says that her speculation is valid and relevant because of the career advice that Sandberg has dispensed to other women, notably in her book Lean In.
In her blog post, Trunk writes:
First of all, let me say that I feel really bad for everyone who is losing Dave Goldberg in their life….
I don’t have any evidence that it was a suicide. All I have is someone notable died and no one is saying how. And however Sheryl’s husband died is news, since she has been news for three years telling women their husband is instrumental into the process of Leaning In.
But really, I just want to know how Dave died. Because I think he killed himself. And if he did, this might tells us a lot about what happens when both people in marriage Lean In.
Trunk’s comments are certain to stir controversy within the tech community, which has been effusive in offering tributes to Goldberg, his character, and his many achievements. Already, TheWrap.com has written that speculation about Goldberg’s death is causing concern about the state of SurveyMonkey.
The family has asked for privacy as they cope with his loss.