The Daily Wire reports that CEO Jack Dorsey announced his intention to step down from his leadership role at Twitter on Monday.
The Wire notes that CNBC and David Faber first broke the story.
News of Dorsey’s resignation initiated a flurry of activity on Wall Street, according to InvestorPlace. Initially, stocks rose 10%, before falling and then being halted for a time. Normal trading resumed at 10:56 AM (Eastern Standard Time).
In a statement posted to Twitter, Dorsey sought to assure stockholders by outlining why now is a good time for him to step down.
“After almost 16 years 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,” wrote Dorsey.
Dorsey provided three reasons for his resignation:
1) Agrawal will be moving into the CEO position
Dorsey noted that Parag Agrawal was “unanimously appointed” by the Board and that “he’s been my choice for some time.”
In a display of profound support, Dorsey wrote that Agrawal helped to “turn this company around,” and commended him for being “curious, probing, rational, creative, demanding, self-aware, and humble.”
Dorsey concluded his paragraph on Agrawal by saying, “My trust in him as our CEO is bone-deep.”
2) Bret Taylor is the new Board Chair
Dorsey endorsed Taylor by saying he has “been excellent in every way,” noting that he understands entrepreneurship, “taking risks” and working with businesses of “massive scale.”
Generous with his praise, Dorsey wrote: “Having Bret in this leadership role gives me a lot of confidence in the strength of our Board going forward. You have no idea how happy this makes me!”
3) “All of you”
“All of you have the potential to change the course of this company for the better. I believe this with all my heart!” wrote Dorsey. He added that he was confident in the future of the company because “we have a lot of ambition and potential on this team.”
Dorsey wrote that Agrawal would become Twitter’s Chief Technology Officer immediately, and that he would continue serving on the Board through the Spring (which would mark the end of his term).
He added that he believes it is best to “leave the board” because it gives “Parag the space he needs to lead… free of its founder’s influence or direction.”
Dorsey’s resignation statement concluded with these words:
“I want you all to know that this was my decision and I own it. It was a tough one for me, of course. I love this service and company…and all of you so much. I’m really sad…yet really happy. There aren’t many companies that get to this level. And there aren’t many founders that choose their company over their own ego. I know we’ll prove this was the right move.”
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