Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has been voted in as the permanent CEO of Twitter by the social media site’s board. This follows a three-month stretch as interim CEO following the resignation of his predecessor, Dick Costolo in July.
Dorsey co-founded Twitter in 2006 and was the company’s first CEO for two years, after which he was succeeded by co-founder Evan Williams. According to a book released in 2013, he was removed as CEO for spending too much time on his hobbies, which included yoga and skirt-making. Dorsey is known for making the first ever public tweet on the platform, “just setting up my twitr.”
just setting up my twttr
— jack (@jack) March 21, 2006
Dorsey will also remain CEO of the online payments company Square, which he co-founded in 2009. Square is reportedly preparing for an IPO. His unusual position of juggling the CEO positions of two companies has already become a topic of discussion for tech commentators. Dorsey’s own Twitter feed today is divided roughly evenly between news about Twitter and comments about Square.
Square is the most powerful set of tools to start, run & grow a business. Download Square, start selling. Download Square, get cash to grow.
— jack (@jack) October 5, 2015
Dorsey was appointed as interim CEO of Twitter just as the company was entering a particularly rocky period. The company’s shares fell by 18 per cent in April as news of lacklustre revenue and user growth was leaked on the internet, and it was reported that investors were losing confidence in the company. With China-shaped clouds hanging over tech stocks, the pressure on Twitter is likely to increase.
Dorsey is well known for his progressive politics. He took part in the Ferguson protests over alleged police racism in the U.S. and has been photographed with leading Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson. Twitter has in the past been accused of heavy-handedness in its decision to suspend prominent critics of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Follow Allum Bokhari @LibertarianBlue on Twitter.
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