Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey is expected to step down from his executive role. The news comes via a report from report from CNBC‘s financial reporter David Faber, who cited unnamed sources claiming Dorsey is expected to bow out from his role at the social media company in the “near term.” At this time, Twitter hasn’t confirmed the report and a public announcement has not been made. It is unclear who could succeed Dorsey, though Reuters reported that Dorsey and “Twitter’s board have settled on his successor,” who was not named. The outlet, also citing unnamed sources, said “the company’s board has been preparing for Dorsey’s departure since last year.”
Dorsey, who has an estimated net worth of $11.8 billion according to a Forbes estimate, cofounded Twitter with Ev Williams, Biz Stone and Noah Glass in 2006. He tweeted his first tweet under his Twitter handle “@jack” on March 21, 2006. By 2008, however, Williams had taken over as CEO, and Dorsey transitioned to chairman of Twitter’s board. He returned as the chief executive in 2015. Dorsey is also the CEO of Square, the digital financial payment company he founded in 2009.
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News of Dorsey reportedly stepping down comes after Twitter investor Elliott Management, an activist investment firm led by Paul Singer, sought to replace Dorsey in early 2020. Singer questioned whether Dorsey could adequately split his time between running both Twitter and Square as CEO of both firms and called for Dorsey to step down from Twitter, a move that prompted Twitter’s stock jump to jump more than 7% at the time.
The report also follows Dorsey’s numerous appearances in front of lawmakers. In a September 2018 hearing, he appeared before Congress alongside Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, both being asked about election interference and alleged anti-conservative bias in social media companies. Dorsey again appeared before lawmakers in an October 2020 Congressional hearing about Section 230, an internet law that shields tech platforms from being liable for the content they post online.
At this time, Dorsey’s exit from his executive role has not been confirmed. CNBC did not provide a potential timeframe as for when such an announcement could be made. In the wake of the report, however, shares of the social media company spiked more than 11%, CNN confirmed.
