Twitter’s co-founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey, has announced his departure. Parag Agrawal, who was previously the Chief Technical Officer and has been with the firm since 2011, will succeed him. Agrawal received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and his master’s degree from Stanford University.
In the post announcing his resignation, Dorsey said that “My trust in Parag as Twitter’s CEO is deep. His work over the past 10 years has been transformational. It’s his time to lead.”
Who is Parag Agrawal?
Parag went on to Stanford University after graduating from IIT Bombay, where he studied computer science and earned a doctorate. Following that, he worked in research roles for various large computer organizations, including Microsoft, Yahoo, and AT&T. (All within two and half years).
Parag was the CTO of Twitter, according to his LinkedIn profile, and was in charge of the platform’s Technical Strategy, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Consumer, Revenue, and Science teams.
He joined Twitter in 2011 and has worked there for more than a decade. He was elevated to CTO in October 2017 after serving as a “Distinguished Software Engineer.”
The outgoing CEO, who is 45 years old, expressed confidence in his successor.
“I’ve decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders,” Dorsey said.
Deep gratitude for @jack and our entire team, and so much excitement for the future. Here’s the note I sent to the company. Thank you all for your trust and support 💙 https://t.co/eNatG1dqH6 pic.twitter.com/liJmTbpYs1
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) November 29, 2021
In his letter, Dorsey said, “Parag has been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around. He’s curious, probing, rational, creative, demanding, self-aware, and humble. He leads with heart and soul, and is someone I learn from daily. My trust in him as our CEO is bone deep.”