Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, has resigned from the position and given the company’s charge to executive Parag Agrawal.
On Monday, shortly after the company announced its new CEO, Parag Agrawal became the victim of criticism. The conservatives blazed social media, which led to the emergence of the questions like how Parag Agrawal is going to handle censorship, particularly of far-right sources on social platforms?
As per the reports received, Parag Agrawal has been in the company for nearly 10 years. Prior to becoming the CEO, he was a chief technology officer who has emerged to take over the top and the most volatile position of Silicon Valley. But the question remains the same, where did he come from? Can we expect better changes for Twitter under his authority?
The former CEO wrote in an email to employees, “I’m really sad … yet really happy. There aren’t many companies that get to this level.”
He added that stepping down “was my decision and I own it”.
While the 37-year-old Indian migrant might not seem to be among the celebrity CEOs like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, his firm technical grip combined with considerable experience in the company compensate for his name recognition gap. This is what twitter’s biggest supporters were waiting to see in the next chapter.
Parag Agrawal is a “‘safe’ pick who should be looked upon as favorably by investors” says Angelo Zino, the CFRA Research analyst. He believes that Paul Singer’s Elliott Management is behind Dorsey’s resignation.
That comprehends we can expect no big changes in company direction and policies including the recent strategy to focus on annual revenue and the company’s long term ambition, under his authority, say, experts.
“We recently updated our strategy to hit ambitious goals, and I believe that strategy to be bold and right,” the new CEO said in an email to employees. “But our critical challenge is how we work to execute against it and deliver results.”
Currently, the company is facing tough challenges as it has to compete with user favorite platforms like Instagram and TikTok that grab the biggest market share from younger demographics while tackling hate speech and misinformation.
Parag Agrawal is expected to continue from where the former CEO has left including the battle with other platforms that are luring away its potential users, said Jill Wilson, Esquire Digital’s chief marketing officer.
“Agrawal has his work cut out for him in terms of keeping Twitter relevant and getting the everyday user on board, and monetizing the platform in general,” said Wilson.
In 2020, Agrawal was once pointed out by critics when he told MIT Technology Review that “Twitter, like other private companies, isn’t bound by the First Amendment.” His statement led conservatives to speculate that the company’s “censorship” of political sources will worsen. Agrawal, who has been with the company since 2011, tweeted in 2010, “If they are not gonna make a distinction between Muslims and extremists, then why should I distinguish between white people and racists.”
