In a statement today Mr Dorsey wrote “It’s finally time for me to leave” adding that the company was “ready to move on.” He will be replaced by Twitter’s current chief technical officer Parag Agrawal. The news was first trailed by CNBC this morning from an anonymous source. Shares in Twitter rose over 11 percent following the news. Mr Dorsey has recently come under pressure from some investors.
His successor Mr Agrawal first joined the firm in 2011 and has been in his current post as head of technology since 2017.
Mr Dorsey said Mr Agrawal was his choice for a while, saying how “deeply he understands the company and its needs.”
In a letter share on Twitter he added: “Parag had been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around.”
“He’s curious, probing, rational, creative, demanding, self-aware and humble.”
Head of Investment at Interactive Investor Victoria Scholar said: “The change in leadership is being received as a positive by the markets as a way for Twitter to turn over a new leaf and take bigger risks.
“The development comes as no shock to its board members who have reportedly been preparing to say goodbye to Dorsey since last year.
“Twitter’s stock has been struggling lately, shedding more than 45% since the February high, with shareholders hoping that Agrawal can restore confidence in the tech giant after its latest earnings disappointed with revenue guidance and monetizable daily users falling short of Wall Street’s expectations, sending shares down double digits on the day.”
Mr Dorsey confirmed he would remain on the board until around May to help with the transition.
He stated he has no plans to stay on or become chair saying he believed it important to give Mr Agrawal “the space he needs to lead.”
Also sharing his response on Twitter Mr Agrawal thanked Jack Dorsey and the Twitter team.
The incoming CEO added: “We recently updated our strategy to hit ambitious goals, and I blieve that strategy to be bold and right.
“But our critical challenge is how we work to executive against it and deliver results- that’s how we’ll make Twitter the best it can be for our customers, shareholders, and for each of you.”
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Mr Dorsey co-founded Twitter with Biz Stones, Evan Williams and Noah Glass in 2006.
He served as chief executive until 2008 when he founded digital payments app Square before subsequently rejoining Twitter as CEO in 2015.
Since then he has appeared in front of numerous public inquiries into social media.
He has also faced pressure to resign from Elliott Management, an investment firm owning a large share of Twitter’s stock.
The firm has said Twitter would benefit from a chief executive with only one company to run.