The Truth About Jack Dorsey Stepping Down As Twitter's CEO
Jack Dorsey is officially throwing in the towel.
Dorsey, who began his second term as Twitter CEO in 2015, helped champion the social media giant in 2006 alongside cohorts Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams (via TheStreet). What would ultimately transpire over the next decade-and-a-half is a revolution that helped reimagine communication in the digital age. Initially with a limit of 140 characters, the innovative concept of a "tweet" set Twitter apart from its competitors in Facebook and MySpace. Users could update their followers in a concise manner, all while connecting with celebrities and people all around the world. It was all fun and games until 2015 when Twitter became weaponized in the dramatic presidential campaign of Donald Trump.
The eventual president would go on to use the social media platform to troll, criticize, and disparage political opponents — while keeping his legions of followers updated on the world of Trump during his historic reign as POTUS. It was a groundbreaking move, seeing as no president had utilized social media to that extent beforehand.
Following the January 6th Capitol attack, Dorsey banned Trump permanently from the social media platform — citing on Twitter that "Offline harm as a result of online speech is demonstrably real, and what drives our policy and enforcement above all," though he didn't "celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban @realDonaldTrump from Twitter." Now, after a tumultuous run, Dorsey is finally stepping down for good.
Jack Dorsey announces his departure as Twitter CEO and names replacement
Imagine being tasked with running one of the world's largest social media companies. Now imagine that pressure multiplied exponentially with the crushing weight of former President Donald Trump. When Jack Dorsey stepped up as Twitter CEO for his second term in 2015, chances are he had no idea what he got himself into.
In the following years, Trump would maintain a stranglehold on Twitter — boasting over 88 million followers at his peak (via CNN). He would ultimately get banned from the platform following the January 6th insurrection by Dorsey, who received swift backlash shortly thereafter. Now, almost a year later, Dorsey has announced he's stepping down as Twitter's CEO. Though he didn't cite the riots in his announcement — he named his replacement — Twitter CTO Parag Agrawal.
"I've 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. His work over the past 10 years has been transformational. I'm deeply grateful for his skill, heart, and soul. It's his time to lead," Dorsey said in a statement (via PR Newswire). It was noted that Dorsey will stay on the board until 2022. Bret Taylor, Twitter's soon-to-be Independent Board Chair added, "I want to thank Jack for his visionary leadership and unrelenting dedication to Twitter since its founding. ... Jack has given the world something invaluable and we will continue to carry it forward."