Dick Costolo has stepped down as the CEO of Twitter. The company has announced that Co-founder, Chairman and Square CEO, Jack Dorsey, will take over as the interim CEO while a permanent CEO is being sought.
Dick effective date is July 1 but he will still be on the Board of Directors.
Costolo said, “I am tremendously proud of the Twitter team and all that the team has accomplished together during my six years with the Company. We have great leaders who work well together and a clear strategy that informs our objectives and priorities. There is no one better than Jack Dorsey to lead Twitter during this transition. He has a profound understanding of the product and Twitter’s mission in the world as well as a great relationship with Twitter’s leadership team. I am deeply appreciative of the confidence the Board, the management team and the employees have placed in me over the years, and I look forward to supporting Twitter however I can going forward.”
Dorsey said, “The future belongs to Twitter thanks in large part to Dick Costolo’s dedication and vision. Dick has put a world-class team in place and created a great foundation from which Twitter can continue to change the world and grow. We have an exciting lineup of products and initiatives coming to market, and I look forward to continuing to execute our strategy while helping facilitate a smooth transition as the Board conducts its search.” Dorsey continued, “I am grateful for the talented team at Square, which I will continue to lead. We have built a very strong company from top to bottom, and I am as committed as ever to its continued success.”
According to Board’s Lead Independent Director, Peter Currie, “On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Dick for his years of tireless devotion to building Twitter into the strong and dynamic company it is today, putting us in a superb position for continued growth and innovation for many years to come. We look forward to his continued contributions during the transition period and as an ongoing member of the Board. The Board is fully committed to running a thorough process to identify the right CEO to lead Twitter into its next phase of growth. In the meantime, we are fortunate to have Jack – one of our founders – step back into a management role and help lead Twitter as we continue executing on our strategic priorities.”
Even with these good comments, it is thought that his resignation is connected with the slowing growth in user numbers and failure to capture a bigger slice of digital advertising revenue.
This is Dorsey’s second time returning to Twitter in an increased capacity. He returned in 2010 to lead product after Costolo became CEO.