Parag Agrawal, who was earlier the Chief Technology Officer in the company, will now succeed Jack Dorsey as the CEO of Twitter. Dorsey took to Twitter to announce the development, by posting his email to his employees, after speculations regarding his exit were doing the rounds in the media.
Bret Taylor has also been appointed as the board chair. Dorsey said he will continue to serve the board until May 2022 to help Agrawal and Taylor with the transition.
In his statement, Dorsey said it is important for the company to be free from influence from founders. “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.”
not sure anyone has heard but,
I resigned from Twitter pic.twitter.com/G5tUkSSxkl— jack⚡️ (@jack) November 29, 2021
Agrawal is an IIT-Bombay alumnus who joined Twitter in 2011 as an engineer. In 2005, he enrolled in the Computer Science Ph.D. program at Stanford. He has also worked with companies like Microsoft, AT&T Labs, and Yahoo. In 2017 he became the Chief Technology Officer of the social media giant.
Dorsey said, “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.”
Agrawal also said he has deep regards for Jack Dorsey and the entire team at the microblogging site.
“I’m grateful for your continued mentorship and 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 put in me and your continued partnership,” he said.
Deep gratitude for @jack and our entire team, and so much excitement for the future. Here's the note I sent to the company. Thank you all for your trust and support https://t.co/eNatG1dqH6 pic.twitter.com/liJmTbpYs1
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) November 29, 2021
“The world is watching us right now, even more than they have before. Lots of people are going to have lots of different views and opinions about today’s news. It is because they care about Twitter and our future, and it’s a signal that the work we do here matters,” Agrawal added.