CTO Parag Agrawal Assumes New Leadership Role at Twitter

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey “has decided to step down” as head of the social media company, according to a Monday (Nov. 29) company-issued press release.

In his place, Twitter’s board of directors has appointed Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal to the role of CEO, according to the announcement. Agrawal joined Twitter in 2011 and has served as CTO since October of 2017, according to Twitter.

Dorsey will remain on the board until his term expires at the 2022 stockholders’ meeting, according to the press release.

“I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders,” Dorsey said in the announcement. “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.”

Bret Taylor was named the new chairman of the board, succeeding Patrick Pichette, who will remain on the board and continue to serve as chair of the audit committee, according to the announcement.

In addition to founding Twitter, Dorsey co-founded and serves as CEO of Square. Earlier this year, the payments processing company waded into the ever-popular buy now, pay later (BNPL) realm with the acquisition of Afterpay.

In August, Dorsey said that Square and Afterpay had a “shared purpose,” as PYMNTS reported.

See more: BNPL Race Keeps Heating up as Users Grow, Sales Increase and New Partnerships Form

Agrawal purportedly has his work cut out for him with the company’s goal of monetizing 315 million daily active users by the end of 2023, according to a CNBC report. Twitter stakeholder Elliott Management had previously raised concerns about Dorsey serving as CEO of two public companies, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Dorsey continues to find success with Square, via Afterpay. The company announced last week that it would offer a subscription service in the U.S. and Australia in early 2022. The company intends to offer this feature to in-store purchases and bring it to other regions, including Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and Europe.

See also: Afterpay Rolling out Subscription Service in 2022