Jack Dorsey has stepped down from his role as chief executive officer of Twitter Inc., the social network announced today, and Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal is taking the helm. 

Twitter also announced a board reshuffle in conjunction with the leadership change. Salesforce.com Inc. Chief Operating Officer Bret Taylor, who has been on the social network’s board since 2016, is now independent chair. Dorsey, who is also a board member, will remain on the board until his tenure expires next year.

Dorsey co-founded Twitter in 2006 and briefly led the social network as CEO from 2007 to 2008. He returned to the CEO post in 2015, a role he held until his departure today. 

Activist investor Elliott Management reportedly launched a push to oust Dorsey as CEO in early 2020. The firm also nominated four directors to the social network’s board. Elliott Management ended the effort to replace Dorsey later in 2020, when Twitter signed a deal with the firm to implement a number of business changes, including a $2 billion share repurchase program. 

Between his two stints as CEO of Twitter, Dorsey co-founded Square Inc., a provider of payment processing services and credit card readers for businesses. NYSE-listed Square has a market capitalization of more than $98 billion. Dorsey was the CEO of both Twitter and Square for several years and remains at the helm of the latter company following his departure from Twitter.

“I’ve decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders,” Dorsey said in a statement. “My trust in Parag as Twitter’s CEO is deep. His work over the past 10 years has been transformational. I’m deeply grateful for his skill, heart and soul. It’s his time to lead.”

Newly appointed Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal was previously the social network’s chief technology officer. As CTO,  Agrawal increased the pace of new feature development and led the implementation of artificial intelligence technology in more parts of Twitter’s operations. Before becoming CTO in 2017, the executive was Twitter’s first distinguished engineer.

“I want to thank the Board for their confidence in my leadership and Jack for his continued mentorship, support, and partnership,” Agrawal said in a statement today. “By continuing to improve our execution, we will deliver tremendous value for our customers and shareholders as we reshape the future of public conversation.”

“Parag understands Twitter and appreciates the company’s unique potential,” said Taylor. “He has been instrumental in tackling our most important priorities, including accelerating our development velocity, and I know he’ll hit the ground running to strengthen execution and deliver results. The board has the utmost confidence in Parag.” 

Agrawal is taking the helm in a time when the social network is pursuing an effort to grow its revenues significantly. Earlier this year, Twitter set a goal of at least doubling sales, to $7.5 billion, by the end of 2023. In that time frame, the social network is also seeking to accelerate the pace at which it ships new features. 

“Twitter’s appointment of a technical CEO sends a clear signal that tech innovation is now the priority for the platform,” said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, chief of strategy at Emplifi, a provider of customer experience and marketing software.

Photo: Brian Solis/Flickr