Ex-Facebook exec explains why she joined Ancestry.com as CEO
On a recent episode of "Influencers with Andy Serwer," Deborah Liu explained why she left a successful position as vice president of Facebook App Commerce to join Ancestry.com as CEO.
“I had talked to several companies about different roles as a CEO and, and when I got the call about Ancestry, it felt really right telling your family story,” Liu told Yahoo Finance’s editor-in-chief. "I'm very close to my family, even though I grew up really far away from them. We were half a world away. I live in a country away from most of my family. And so really, capturing your family story, telling your family history is such an important part of my own life."
Ancestry.com gives consumers in-depth information about their lineage and DNA. The company, which is headquartered in Levi, Utah, maintains a robust database of over 30 billion records online and has over 22 million people in their DNA network. It also reports over $1 billion in annual revenue. The company's largest competitors include FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage, and 23andMe.
Before joining Ancestry, Liu spent over a decade at Facebook (META), where she served as vice president of Facebook App Commerce, among other positions. During her time at the company, she spearheaded both Facebook Pay, an online system that allows users to send or receive money through the social media channel and Marketplace, the company's platform for connecting consumers and businesses.
“It was an incredible adventure, I think the thing I learned the most is that, you know, a small group of people who really care about a product or a problem can solve so many things,” Liu shared. “And whether that's within a company or outside of a company, is a technology has the opportunity to connect a billion people to buy from their local community.”
But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, social distancing spurred Liu to re-evaluate her priorities. She decided to join Ancestry, despite her success at Facebook.
“I just knew that this was the opportunity for me, because I think especially during COVID, we realized just how important our family was when we couldn't see them anymore. We couldn't connect with them when they're sick,” Liu said. “And, you know, it's one of those things where it was a reminder that what we have in life is our health, our family, our friends, and those are more important than other things.”
Among several services, Ancestry offers users a direct-to-consumer DNA test. The user orders the kit, submits a spit sample, and receives a comprehensive analysis of their genomes in return. They can then learn what countries or regions their ancestors come from.
“This is a company that's really dedicated to that and truly capturing your own family story, but to share with your own family and to have, you know, a history for your children and your grandchildren as well,” Liu remarked.
Liu, who previously told MSNBC that she experienced racist bullying growing up in South Carolina, also recognized that, like Facebook, Ancestry had the potential to bring people together.
"I also think it's really important that we realize that we're more interrelated than we think,” Liu reflected. “Looking at your ancestry, your DNA, you realize that we are one human family, and you know, seeing the connections you have with people who don't necessarily look like you, but are part of who you are. That is an incredibly powerful message that I hope people will see.”
Dylan Croll is a reporter and researcher at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @CrollonPatrol.
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