Dive Brief:
- After much speculation, interim Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will be named as permanent CEO of the company he co-founded and previously led, according to sources that spoke with Re/Code.
- Twitter has not confirmed the appointment. An official announcement is expected as early as Thursday. Sources say it's not clear whether a formal vote by the board has occurred.
- Former CEO Dick Costolo, who Dorsey replaced, is expected to leave his role on Twitter's board of directors. Twitter’s board is also reportedly in the process of settling the status of other top brass, including revenue chief Adam Bain and CFO Anthony Noto.
Dive Insight:
Although Twitter has not officially confirmed the move, Jack Dorsey is expected to return as Twitter CEO seven years after being fired from the same role. Dorsey was criticized for his poor management in his first run as Twitter CEO.
Dorsey is also the CEO of Square, the mobile payments firm he founded. Although the board previously said Dorsey could not hold both roles at the same time on a permanent basis, it looks like they may have changed their minds. This week, key Twitter and Square investors gave Dorsey an informal vote of confidence that he could handle helming both companies. Square recently filed for its IPO.
After Dick Costolo’s departure as CEO, Dorsey came in to shake up Twitter’s business approach and articulate a long-term vision for the company. Dorsey is widely viewed as a product visionary who can accelerate Twitter's development of new products.
Notably, the company is reportedly now developing a new product that will allow users to send tweets longer than the long-held 140-character limit -- a distinctive feature of Twitter that Dorsey first came up with. Dorsey has reportedly endorsed breaking the 140-character limit.
The Dorsey appointment could help reinvigorate Twitter as its stocks sits near an all-time low.
