Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced Monday that he is stepping down as the social media company's chief executive, a move that will likely send shockwaves throughout the tech world.


What You Need To Know

  • Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced Monday that he is stepping down as the social media giant's chief executive

  • Parag Agrawal, Twitter's chief technology officer, will replace Dorsey as CEO

  • Shares of the social media giant soared on the news, forcing NASDAQ to suspend trading on the company's stock

  • Dorsey, who founded the company, served as Twitter's CEO until 2008, when he was forced out; He became CEO again in 2015 and survived an attempt to oust him from his role in 2020

Parag Agrawal, Twitter's chief technology officer, will succeed Dorsey. Bret Taylor, president and COO of business software company Salesforce, will become chairman of the board, while Dorsey will remain on the company's board of directors.

"I’ve decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders," Dorsey, who is also the CEO of digital payment company Square, wrote in a statement. 

In his note, Dorsey said that  he has “worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders” and that to focus too much on whether companies are led by their founders is “severely limiting.”

The news was first reported by CNBC. Shares of the social media giant soared on the news, forcing NASDAQ to suspend trading on the company's stock.

Twitter stock jumped 10% after the opening bell on Monday following CNBC's report. Twitter shares rose 5% to $49.47 in morning trading after the announcement.

Ahead of the news, Dorsey wrote "I love twitter" on his personal Twitter account early Sunday morning

Dorsey, who founded the company, served as Twitter's CEO until 2008, when he was forced out. He became CEO again in 2015 and survived an attempt to oust him from his role in 2020.

Critics have found fault with the fact that Dorsey's responsibilities to Square divide his attention, to Twitter's detriment.

While Twitter has high-profile users like politicians and celebrities and is a favorite of journalists, its user base lags far behind old rivals like Facebook and YouTube and newer ones like TikTok. It has just over 200 million daily active users, a common industry metric.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.