Jack Dorsey Steps Down As Twitter CEO
On Monday, Jack Dorsey stepped down from his role as Twitter CEO in a statement that he released on the platform. Jack claimed Twitter was “Ready to move on from its founders”. He was replaced by Parag Agrawal, who has been the company’s Chief Technology Officer(CTO).
Dorsey, 45, co-founded Twitter in 2006 alongside Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Noah Glass. He led the company until 2008 when he was forced out. He returned for a second stint in 2008 after the-then CEO Dick Costolo, stepped down. He will remain on Twitter’s board until the stockholders’ meeting in 2022 before leaving completely.
He has faced a lot of challenges in his second reign. Twitter has become a highly political platform and has faced criticism for its inability to curb fake news. In 2020, he was almost ousted by Elliot Management, one of Twitter’s biggest investors who wanted him to choose between running either Twitter or Square, the digital financial payment company he founded in 2009 and is now valued at USD 100Bn.
Who is Parag Agrawal?
Dorsey’s replacement, Parag, is a 37-year-old immigrant from India. His ascension to the role of CEO of Twitter means he joins an illustrious list of Indian immigrants at the top of startups in Silicon Valley. This list includes Sundar Pichai at Google, Satya Nadella at Microsoft, Arvind Krishna at IBM, Shantanu Narayen at Adobe and Ajaypal Singh Banga at Mastercard.
Free Reads Deal-Street Africa [July 12- July 16]: Mineworkers Investment Launches USD 10.5 Mn Early-stage Investment Vehicle
Free Reads Tanzania’s Home Affairs Minister Fired By President Over USD 453 Mn Fraud With Mysterious Romanian Firm
Agrawal has been at Twitter for 10 years and has recently worked closely with Dorsey as the company CTO. He steps into the role as a relatively unknown, but investors believe his technical background makes him a “safe” pick.
He will be charged with leading Twitter’s ambitious plans to double its revenue by 2023. Twitter is a minnow in terms of revenue compared to its peers, Google and Facebook. The startup also has long-term plans to change the way social media companies operate.
Image Courtesy; InspirationFeed
