In an effort to bring more experienced leadership to its management ranks, Facebook today said it has hired a top Google executive to become chief operating officer of the booming social-networking company.

Sheryl Sandberg joins Facebook after six years at Google, where she served as the internet-search giant's vice president of global online sales & operations. Before Google, Sandberg—who earned an M.B.A. from Harvard—was chief of staff to Treasury secretary Larry Summers in the Clinton administration.

"Sheryl is a great manager who will help scale Facebook's operations globally," said Facebook's 23-year-old founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. "She has relevant experience and a track record of scaling business operations and building new kinds of advertising networks. Sheryl understands Facebook's goal of connecting everyone in the world and is passionate about building a business that will enable us to realize this mission."

For months, many observers have suggested Zuckerberg should bring in an experienced technology executive to help run the company—especially after the Beacon "social advertising" P.R. disaster last fall. Today, it appears that Zuckerberg did just that.

"I have learned so much during my time at Google, and I've loved working with the people there," said Sandberg. "Together, with Mark and the great team at Facebook, we'll be able to scale this company into a global leader and enable Facebook users worldwide to communicate and share information better. I am thrilled to have this opportunity."