Jack Dorsey Steps Down as Twitter CEO, Parag Agarwal Named His Successor

Dorsey had founded Twitter in 2006 and had been serving as the CEO of both Twitter and payment firm Square Inc.

Jack Dorsey, former CEO of Twitter.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Twitter Inc, has stepped down from his position, he confirmed in a letter posted on his official Twitter account on Monday, 29 November. The board also named Parag Agarwal, the company's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), as the new CEO of the social media company.

Dorsey had co-founded Twitter with Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams in 2006 and served as the CEO of both Twitter and payment firm Square Inc.

"After almost 16 yrs 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," Dorsey said in a statement.

"I've decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders," he added. "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 said that Agrawal had been chosen unanimously by the board to replace him as CEO.

Deep Gratitude for Jack and Our Entire Team: Parag Agarwal

Reacting to Dorsey's letter, Agarwal, too, took to Twitter and 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."

“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 said in a statement.

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%.

On Sunday, Dorsey had said: "I love twitter." His tweet had received over 54,000 likes by Monday morning.

(With inputs from Reuters.)