Dorsey, 45, was serving as both the CEO of Twitter and Square, his digital payments company. He will remain a member of the Board until his term expires at the 2022 meeting of stockholders.
Who is Parag Agrawal?
Agrawal has been with Twitter for more than a decade and has served as Chief Technology Officer since 2017. He attended Kendriya Vidyalaya (Central School) and IIT Mumbai and followed it with a Stanford PhD and ten years at Twitter.
Before studying computer science at IIT, he attended the Atomic Energy Kendriya Vidyalaya. While studying at Stanford, Agarwal worked as a research intern for Microsoft, Yahoo!, and AT&T Labs.
After graduating from Stanford, he joined Twitter as an ads engineer. He served in that position from October 2011 to October 2017. His early work as CTO was dedicated to increasing the relevance of tweets in Twitter timelines through the use of artificial intelligence.
Agarwal's remarkable journey starts from a Kendriya Vidyalaya under the Atomic Energy Education Society (AEES), set up for education to children of the employees of the Department of Atomic Energy and its constituent units. From one school in Anushaktinagar, Mumbai in 1969, AEES administers 30 schools and junior colleges at 16 locations all over the country.
Agrawal, of his new appointment, said: "I look forward to building on everything we have accomplished under Jack's leadership and I am incredibly energised by the opportunities ahead. By continuing to improve our execution, we will deliver tremendous value for our customers and shareholders as we reshape the future of public conversation."
Agrawal, CTO since 2017, isn't in for an easy time. Twitter's stated goal of monetisation for one - 315 million monetisable daily active users by the end of 2023 and doubling of annual revenue. Agrawal's specialisation has been strategy involving artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Jack Dorsey's resignation
In a letter to employees, Dorsey said he will serve out his term on the board of directors until "May-ish" when he will also leave that position.
"I've decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders. My trust in Parag as Twitter's CEO is deep. His work over the past 10 years has been transformational. I'm deeply grateful for his skill, heart, and soul. It's his time to lead," said Dorsey.
Dorsey returned to lead the company as CEO in 2015 despite being forced out of the post in 2008.
In addition to Agrawal's appointment to the Board, the Company announced that Bret Taylor, a member of the Twitter Board since 2016, has been named Independent Chair of the Board, effective immediately.
(With inputs from IANS)
