Twitter has followed Google and Microsoft to place an Indian-origin techie at its helm. Does Parag Agrawal's elevation mean Twitter's coming of age, like Microsoft when Satya Nadella took over
Twitter has finally decided to transfer its reins from founders to professionals. India-born Parag Agrawal has succeeded co-founder Jack Dorsey as the CEO of the social media giant. So will a more diversified board, with an Indian at the helm of affairs, help the company at a time when it is aiming to double its revenue by 2023 and reinvent its image amid several allegations in recent times?
In a statement, Dorsey said the company was ready to move on from its founders. The board of directors of Twitter unanimously selected Agarwal as CEO and a member of the board.
This was not Dorsey’s first exit from the company. After co-founding the social media giant in 2006, Dorsey had been forced out in 2008. But he returned as CEO in 2015 after Dick Costolo stepped down. In 2020, Dorsey was accused of paying little attention to Twitter.
Agrawal, meanwhile, had joined Twitter in 2011 with a focus on ad products. He became the first recipient of the company’s “Distinguished Engineer” title.
According to several media reports, as CTO, Agrawal encouraged Dorsey to allow Twitter to explore decentralization and other related technologies.
A 2005 computer science and engineering alumnus of IIT Bombay, 37-year-old Agrawal is the youngest CEO leading a Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 company.
Agarwal, a known face in Silicon Valley, has a long and tough road ahead. By the end of 2023, the company wants to have 315 million monetizable daily active users. It also wants to double its revenue by then.
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