Shakeup at Twitter as 4 Executives Leave the Company
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said executives chose to leave the company.
— -- Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said today four executives have chosen to leave the social networking company, marking a new challenge for Twitter during a time when Dorsey has been focused on refreshing the company and earning the trust of investors.
In a statement posted on Twitter overnight, Dorsey said he "was really hoping to talk to Twitter employees about this later this week, but want to set the record straight now," Dorsey said, adding that the four executives made the choice to leave Twitter. Those leaving include head of product Kevin Weil, engineering chief Alex Roetter, head of media Kate Stanton and vice president of human resources Skip Schipper.
"All four will be taking some well-deserved time off," Dorsey wrote. "I'm personally grateful to each of them for everything they've contributed to Twitter and our purpose in the world. They are phenomenal people!"
The exodus comes months after Dorsey returned for his second tour as Twitter CEO. Stepping into the role, while also serving as CEO of payments company Square, Dorsey has been under immense pressure from investors to reshape a company that had fallen into disarray.
With more than 300 million monthly active users, Twitter has tremendous reach but has lagged in attracting and retaining new users, who in turn entice businesses to advertise on Twitter and drive revenue.
Daniel Ives, managing director at FBR Capital Markets, told ABC News the shakeup could be a positive for Twitter in the long run.
"As tech companies go through a transformation to the next step of growth and opportunities, losing core executives along the way is part of the risk, while new blood could also be a positive," Ives told ABC News. "In situations like this is where leaders lead. It's a defining time for the company and Dorsey to prove the best days are not in the rear view mirror."
What has already started as a week of radical change for Twitter could continue as it's been reported the company is set to name two new members to its board of directors. With many companies in Silicon Valley working toward better diversity and inclusion, Twitter investor Chris Sacca said he would be "shocked" if Twitter doesn't take the chance to diversify its board of directors.
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