One Woman's Escape From Silicon Valley

- Kris Frieswick

RANDI ZUCKERBERG GLIDES into the bar like a cool breeze, publicist and stylist in tow. She’s smiling, fresh-faced, and gracious, which is astounding, given the unseasonable heat outside and the epic schedule she cleared to meet me.

After a six-year stint at her brother’s company (a little outfit called Facebook), rising from marketing manager to director of consumer marketing, Zuckerberg, 33, is back in the New York City area, near where she grew up. “I said to my husband, we either need to do it, or we just need to admit that we’re never moving back to New York and that we’re comfortable in the California sun,” says Zuckerberg. The pull of the East Coast, it turned out, was stronger than the sun.

For good reason. Silicon Valley had lost its luster for Zuckerberg. In her view, its startup culture is not kind to high-achieving women who also have outside creative pursuits, as she does.

“I found it very difficult, as a woman, to be able to have a side interest in Silicon Valley,” says Zuckerberg. “I felt that it was cool if my male colleagues were DJ’ing or hiking or going skiing on weekends. But as a woman, I felt it was almost this kind of ‘Well, we’ve let you in the boys’ club to work here, so nothing else need take your focus away.’ ”