Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey steps down, names Parag Agrawal as successor; Read full statement

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey on Monday stepped down as the CEO of the social media company. He will be succeeded by Twitter's current Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal. CNBC first reported that Dorsey may step down soon, citing anonymous sources. 

In an email sent to Twitter employees, which he also shared on his Twitter handle, Dorsey said, "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 is finally time for me to leave."

"I want you all to know that this was my decision and I own it. It was a tough one for me, and 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 own company over their own ego. I know we'll prove this was the right move," he said. 

Dorsey informed that he will remain on the board until his term expires in 2022. Agrawal has been CTO since 2017 and at Twitter since 2011.

Jack Dorsey steps down as Twitter CEO

Meanwhile, Parag Agrawal also shared a statement which he sent to the company. "Deep gratitude for @jack and our entire team, and so much excitement for the future," Agrawal tweeted. 

Earlier, shares of Twitter surged on a report that co-founder Dorsey will step down as the company's chief executive.  Twitter's stock, which has consistently underperformed the market, jumped more than 10% at the opening bell Monday before trading was halted pending news, according to the Associated Press.

It has been reported that plans to remove Dorsey as CEO were made in 2020 by Twitter stakeholder Elliott Management, however, a deal between the two prevented that from happening. As per CNBC, it was Elliott Management's founder Paul Singer who objected to Dorsey's control over two companies. Currently, the Twitter CEO is leading another digital payment company, Square along with the social media platform and Singer had demanded him to step down from either of the two. Reportedly, Twitter under Dorsey's leadership had set the goal this year to either register 315 million monetizable daily active users till 2023 or double its annual revenue by the said time. 

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