Who is Parag Agrawal, Twitter's new chief executive?
30 November, 2021
Jack Dorsey unexpectedly stepped down as chief executive from Twitter on Monday after six years leading the company.
In a letter to employees, Mr Dorsey announced that chief technology officer Parag Agrawal will become the social media company's newest leader, saying that Mr Agrawal has been “my first choice for some time now”.
Twitter later confirmed the news.
Born in India, Mr Agrawal has been with Twitter for more than a decade and had served as chief technology officer since 2017, with his biography on the company's leadership page saying he was responsible for Twitter's technical strategy.
His LinkedIn page says that Mr Agrawal received a doctorate from Stanford University in 2012 and an undergraduate computer science degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
He was named Twitter's first “Distinguished Engineer” and is credited for re-accelerating the company's audience growth from 2016-2017.
Mr Agrawal “has been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around”, Mr Dorsey said upon naming him as the next chief executive.
His primary task will be to meet the lofty ambitions of Twitter, which this year announced a plan that would double its revenue to $7.5 billion and grow its monetisable active users to 315 million by the end of 2023.
The company's new chief executive praised the social media platform's “bold and right” strategy in a public letter to company employees.
“But our critical challenge is how we work to execute against it and deliver results — that's how we'll make Twitter the best it can be for our customers, shareholders and for each of you,” he said.
In the third quarter, Twitter reported it had 211 million daily users, five million more than the previous period and a 13 per cent increase from the prior year.
Incoming independent board chair Brett Taylor expressed confidence in Mr Agrawal's ability to accomplish the company's objectives.
Mr Agrawal “understands Twitter and appreciates the company's unique potential”, Mr Taylor said in a statement.
“The board has the utmost confidence in Parag.”
Source: www.thenationalnews.com