Twitter CTO Parag Agarwal replaces Jack Dorsey as CEO

Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey announced his departure this morning, confirming rumors first reported by CNBC. The company confirmed that CTO Parag Agarwal will replace him and says that Brett Taylor is taking over as the new chairman of the board.

Despite stepping down in 2008, Dorsey returned to lead the company as CEO in 2015. He continued to serve as CEO of Square and tweeted "I love Twitter" last night.

In the company's official statement, Dorsey says, "I have decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders. My trust in Parag as Twitter's CEO is deep. 10 His work over the years has been transformative. I am extremely grateful for his skill, heart and soul. It is time for him to take the lead."

In a letter to employees, Dorsey told them that he would complete his term on the board of directors until "may-ish", when he would leave that position as well, and explained his decision as follows:

Why not stay or be a chair? I believe it is really important to give Parag the space he needs to lead. And back to my previous point, I believe it is important that a company be able to stand on its own, free from the influence or direction of its founder.

I want you all to know that it was my decision and I am the master of it. It was tough for me, for sure. I love this service and company...and so much to all of you. I am very sad... still very happy. There are not many companies that reach this level. And there are not many founders who choose their company over their ego. I know we will prove it was the right move.

The new CEO Parag Agarwal joined the company in 2011 as an advertising engineer, eventually attaining the title of CTO in 2018. At the time, the company said, “In his capacity as CTO, he has focused on an integrated machine learning and AI approach to grow our consumer and revenue product and infrastructure teams.” While Dorsey was assigned blockchain technology. Agarwal, known for his interest in cryptocurrency and decentralization, is leading the company's BlueSky effort to create an "open and decentralized standard for social media."

In his note to employees ahead of yesterday's meeting, Agarwal says, "I joined this company 10 years ago, when there were less than 1,000 employees. While they were a decade ago, those days seem like yesterday to me. I've walked with you everywhere, I've seen the ups and downs, the challenges and the odds, the victories and the mistakes. But then and now, above all, I see the incredible impact of Twitter, our continued progress, and the exciting opportunities ahead of us. "