Jack Dorsey steps down as Twitter CEO; Parag Agrawal succeeds him
Jack Dorsey is stepping down as CEO of Twitter, the social media company he co-founded in 2006. He will be replaced by Twitter's chief technology officer, Parag Agrawal, a 10-year veteran of the company.
Twitter stock soared on the news, first reported by CNBC, before trading was halted.
"I've decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders," Dorsey said in a statement. "My trust in Parag as Twitter's CEO is deep. His work over the past 10 years has been transformational. I'm deeply grateful for his skill, heart, and soul. It's his time to lead."
Dorsey will remain on the company's board of directors until May of next year.
Dorsey is also CEO of Square, the financial payments company, and has long been criticized by some investors for leading two public companies at once. The hedge fund Elliot Management, a major shareholder, sought to replace Dorsey last year. It argued that Twitter should have a CEO solely focused on running the company. The hedge fund backed off its demand, however, after striking a deal with Twitter management.
Beyond running the two companies, Dorsey is known to have many passions including the cryptocurrency bitcoin and meditation. He told Wired Magazine in 2020 that he eats just one meal a day and tries to spend two hours a day meditating.
While Twitter is popular among celebrities, politicians and the media, it has been slow to innovate compared with top competitors such as Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok. The microblogging platform has stayed largely the same for years. Only recently has it introduced new features, such as Twitter Blue, a subscription service for frequent users, and Twitter Spaces for audio chats.
On Monday Dorsey shared an email to staff announcing his departure on Twitter, describing it as "a tough one" but as his own decision.
"There aren't many companies that get to this level. And there aren't many founders that choose their company over their own ego," he wrote. "I know we'll prove this was the right move." [Copyright 2021 NPR]
