Twitter Officially Names Jack Dorsey CEO, Also CEO Of Square
At long last, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is back in the CEO seat. Dorsey made the announcement this morning in an 8-K filing and on an investor call - and also shared the news via Twitter, of course. The move heaps more onto Dorsey’s already-full plate; he is (and plans to remain) CEO of mobile payments service Square. Dorsey named Adam Bain to the COO spot and hinted at a major board shakeup while announcing that he was taking back the reins of Twitter.
“I’ve been CEO of both companies for over 3 months now. I have the smartest, strongest, and most determined leaders in the world on my teams,” Dorsey tweeted, referring to Twitter and Square.
Dorsey took on the interim CEO role after then-chief Dick Costolo stepped down from the position this summer. Costolo, who kept a position on Twitter’s board, cut that tie as well today. With Dorsey stepping down from the chairman position and Costolo’s departure, there will be plenty of room for Dorsey to revamp the board and address Twitter’s most pressing challenge: growth.
“We’re working hard at Twitter to focus our roadmap on a few things we can make really great. And we’re strengthening our team along the way,” Dorsey wrote on Twitter. “Our work forward is to make Twitter easy to understand by anyone in the world, and give more utility to the people who love to use it daily!”
At times, Twitter’s board had seemed reluctant to make Dorsey the CEO. The board released a letter in which indicated that the CEO spot would be a full-time position, seemingly ruling out Dorsey, who is also the CEO of Square. Dorsey has been chairman of Twitter’s board for years, having originally been removed from the CEO spot early in the microblogging service’s run. Now, Dorsey will have a very public shot at redemption.
We are naming @adambain COO of Twitter, we're working to change the composition of our Board, and I will serve as CEO of Twitter and Square!
— Jack (@jack) October 5, 2015“I’ve been CEO of both companies for over 3 months now. I have the smartest, strongest, and most determined leaders in the world on my teams,” Dorsey tweeted, referring to Twitter and Square.
Dorsey took on the interim CEO role after then-chief Dick Costolo stepped down from the position this summer. Costolo, who kept a position on Twitter’s board, cut that tie as well today. With Dorsey stepping down from the chairman position and Costolo’s departure, there will be plenty of room for Dorsey to revamp the board and address Twitter’s most pressing challenge: growth.
“We’re working hard at Twitter to focus our roadmap on a few things we can make really great. And we’re strengthening our team along the way,” Dorsey wrote on Twitter. “Our work forward is to make Twitter easy to understand by anyone in the world, and give more utility to the people who love to use it daily!”
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey
At times, Twitter’s board had seemed reluctant to make Dorsey the CEO. The board released a letter in which indicated that the CEO spot would be a full-time position, seemingly ruling out Dorsey, who is also the CEO of Square. Dorsey has been chairman of Twitter’s board for years, having originally been removed from the CEO spot early in the microblogging service’s run. Now, Dorsey will have a very public shot at redemption.
