By Associated Press
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey will step down as CEO of the social media platform, the company announced. He will be succeeded by Twitter’s current Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal.
Earlier, shares of Twitter were surging on a report that co-founder Jack Dorsey would step down as the company’s chief executive.
Twitter’s stock, which has consistently underperformed the market, jumped more than 10% at the opening bell Monday before trading was halted pending news.
CNBC first reported that Dorsey may step down soon, citing anonymous sources.
Twitter Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press early Monday.
Dorsey is also the top executive at Square, a financial payments company that he founded, and some big investors have openly questioned whether he can be effective leading both.
Twitter has faced some criticism from politicians recently. Former President Donald Trump was banned from Twitter, with Dorsey defending the move, saying the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and Trump’s tweets after the event resulted in a risk to public safety and created an “extraordinary and untenable circumstance” for the company. Trump sued the company, along with Facebook and YouTube, in July for alleged censorship.
