Parag Agrawal has been named CEO of Twitter by the board of directors.
Twitter Inc. TWTR -0.58 percent announced on Monday that Chief Executive Jack Dorsey is stepping down, a year after surviving a challenge from activist investors.
One of Silicon Valley’s most recognizable figures, the co-founder of Twitter is also the CEO of Square Inc., a digital payments startup. Many employees have hailed him as a stabilizing force within the social-media company since he returned to the CEO role in 2015.
His split duties and personal eccentricities have long made him the target of critics, but many employees have hailed him as a stabilizing force within the social-media company since he returned to the CEO role in 2015.
In a statement, Mr. Dorsey said, “I’ve decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders.”
has been named CEO and a member of the board of directors of Twitter, effective immediately. Previously, Mr. Agrawal served as Twitter’s chief technology officer.
Mr. Dorsey expressed “deep” confidence in his successor. “I appreciate his talent, passion, and soul. It is now his turn to take the reins “He expressed himself.
Since 2017, Mr. Agrawal has served as the company’s head of technology.
As rumors of his resignation spread, Twitter’s stock price rose marginally.
As a result, stock exchange trading was temporarily interrupted, but it has since resumed.
CNBC first the news of Mr. Dorsey’s leaving on Monday, citing unidentified sources familiar with the situation. Separately, the Reuters news agency stated that it had received the same information.
“I love Twitter,” Mr. Dorsey tweeted on Sunday, seemingly without prompting.
Mr. Dorsey tweeted, “Not sure anyone has heard but I resigned from Twitter,” in addition to the official corporate statement.
“There’s a lot of discussion about how important it is for a firm to be ‘founder-led.’ Finally, I believe that this is very restricting and a single point of failure “he stated in an email to workers that he attached.
Dorsey’s managerial style has been questioned by investors and some employees, who are concerned that his duties at both firms are stretching him too thin. He declared plans to move to Africa for six months in 2019, which alarmed both employees and investors. After the coronavirus outbreak, he abandoned the proposal.
He also stated that when his term on the board ends, he would step down.
“Why don’t you stay or take over as chair? It’s critical, in my opinion, to allow Parag the room he needs to lead.”
Following Twitter’s decision to ban former President Donald Trump from the network, Dorsey sparked a political maelstrom. He later justified the move as the “correct option,” but added that it also revealed, “our final inability to foster healthy conversation.”
According to Forbes, Dorsey’s investments in Twitter and Square have helped him accumulate a personal fortune of nearly $12 billion. Dorsey declared in April that he will donate $1 billion to relief efforts connected to the coronavirus, “girls’ health and education,” and research into universal basic income (UBI) — monetary transfers to everyone.
