Jack Dorsey Steps Down As Twitter CEO, Parag Agrawal Takes Over

In his statement, Jack Dorsey also revealed that Parag Agarwal is set to take over the post.

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New Delhi: Jack Dorsey has stepped down from his role as microblogging platform Twitter's Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He informed about the development through a tweet on Monday.

In his statement, Jack Dorsey also revealed that Indian-origin technology executive Parag Agarwal is set to take over the post.

"I believe it's critical a company can stand on its own, free of its founder's influence or direction," Dorsey said in his statement, elaborating about his decision to step down.

Expressing his faith in his successor, Dorsey wrote: "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."

Dorsey had taken over as the CEO of Twitter in 2015, presiding over a rocky-yet-relatively successful run for the micro-blogging site.

On the other hand, Parag Agrawal had joined Twitter in 2011 and was appointed as the company's CTO in 2017.

Parag Agrawal, an IIT Bombay and Stanford alumnus, also shared a statement as he took over the baton from Jack Dorsey, thanking him profusely for his "mentorship" and "friendship".

Sharing about his journey, the new Twitter CEO wrote: "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."

Jack Dorsey is also the head of payments company Square Inc. Recently, his increasing interest in cryptocurrencies gained the attention of enthusiasts and netizens alike. 

Previously, in 20018, he had stepped down as CEO of Obvious Corporation, which then spun off Twitter, Inc. He became Twitter's permanent CEO in 2015.

Jack Dorsey was in charge of the microblogging website when it faced widespread pressure from politicians and activists over Twitter's responsibility towards moderating hate speech, misinformation, and other forms of objectionable content posted especially at the peak of election campaigning in the US Presidential Election 2020. 

Significantly, following the January 6 US Capitol Hill violence, Twitter had banned outgoing president Donald Trump from the platform over his tweets that are blamed for instigating the shocking riot. The then Twitter CEO released a statement defending the platform's stance.

According to Bloomberg's report, Dorsey has a net worth of USD 12.3 billion, with Square accounting for more than USD 10 billion of that amount. He has publicly pledged much of his stake in Square to charitable causes, it mentioned.