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Twitter Boss Jack Dorsey Steps Down as Company’s CEO, Parag Agrawal to Succeed
Dorsey is also the top executive at Square, a financial payments company that he founded, and some big investors have openly questioned whether he can be effective leading both.
New York: Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Twitter Inc, has stepped down from his position, the company said on Monday. Parag Agrawal, the company’s chief technology officer, will take over the helm, the company further added. Dorsey was serving as both the CEO of Twitter and Square, his digital payments company.
Dorsey will remain a member of the Board until his term expires at the 2022 meeting of stockholders, the company said. Bret Taylor will become the Chairman of the Board.
Jack Dorsey steps down as Twitter CEO; Parag Agrawal to be the new CEO
Jack Dorsey’s letter to his team:
To Twitter
Hello team.
After almost 16 years of having a role at our company…from co-founder to CEO to Chair to Exec Chair to interim-CEO to CEO…I decided it’s finally time for me to leave. Why?
There’s a lot of talk about the importance of a company being “founder-led.” Ultimately I believe that’s severely limiting and a single point of
failure. I’ve worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders. There are 3 reasons I believe now is the right time.
The first is Parag becoming our CEO. The board ran a rigorous process considering all options and unanimously appointed Parag. He’s been my choice for some time given how deeply he understands the company and its needs. Parag has been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around. He’s curious, probing, rational, creative, demanding, self-aware, and humble. He leads with heart and soul, and is someone I learn from daily. My trust in him as our CEO is bone deep.
The second is Bret Taylor agreeing to become our board chair. I asked Bret to join our board when I became CEO, and he’s been excellent in every way. He understands entrepreneurship, taking risks, companies at massive scale, technology, product, and he’s an engineer. All of the things the board and the company deserve right now. Having Bret in this leadership role gives me a lot of confidence in the strength of our board going forward. You have no idea how happy this makes me!
The third is all of you. We have a lot of ambition and potential on this team. Consider this: Parag started here as an engineer who cared deeply about our work and now he’s our CEO (I also had a similar path…he did it better!). This alone makes me proud. I know that Parag will be able to
channel this energy best because he’s lived it and knows what it takes. All of you have the potential to change the course of this company for the better. I believe this with all my heart!
Parag is CEO starting today. I’m going to serve on the board through my term (May-ish) to help Parag and Bret with the transition. And after that…I’ll leave the board. Why not stay or become chair? I believe it’s really important to give Parag the space he needs to lead. And back to my
previous point, I believe it’s critical a company can stand on its own, free of its founder’s influence or direction.
I want you all to know that this was my decision and I own it. It was a tough one for me, of course. I love this service and company…and all of you so much. I’m really sad…yet really happy. There aren’t many companies that get to this level. And there aren’t many founders that choose
their company over their own ego. I know we’ll prove this was the right move. We’ll have an all-hands meeting tomorrow at 9:05 AM Pacific to discuss it all. Until then, thank you all for the trust you’ve placed in me, and for
the openness to build that trust in Parag and yourselves. I love you all.
jack
PS I’m tweeting this email. My one wish is for Twitter Inc to be the most transparent company in the world. Hi mom!
Reacting to Jack’s letter, the new Twitter Boss Parag Agarwal said that he is honored and humbled. “I’m grateful for your continued mentorship and your friendship. I’m grateful for the service that you built, the culture, soul, and purpose you, fostered among us, and for leading the company through really significant challenges. I’m grateful for the trust you’ve put in me and for your continued partnership,” Agarwal in his statement wrote.
“Team, most of all, I’m grateful for all of you, and it’s you who inspire confidence in our future together. I joined this company 10 years ago when there were fewer than 1,000 employees. While it was a decade ago, those days feel like yesterday to me. I’ve walked in your shoes, I’ve seen the ups and downs, the challenges and obstacles, the wins and the mistakes. But then and now, above all else, I see Twitter’s incredible impact, our continued progress, and the exciting opportunities ahead of us,” he further added.
Earlier, a source had told Reuters that the company’s board had been preparing for his departure since last year, Reuters reported. After reports of his pending departure emerged, shares of Twitter surged 9% in early trading, while those of Square Inc also increased by 3%.