CNBC reported this morning that Jack Dorsey is going to step down from his role at the social media company. After he confirmed the rumors, he issued a press release. Parag Agrawal, who joined the company as an engineer in 2011 and has served as the company's chief technology officer since 2017, will take over as the next CEO.
There is a lot of talk about the importance of a company being founder-led. I believe that is limiting and a single point of failure. I have worked hard to make sure this company can break away from its founding and founders.
Square is a financial company that serves both consumer and corporate customers with payment, cash management and transference services.
At the meeting of stockholders in 2022, the term of the Board of Directors will be expired. The company said that Patrick Pichette will remain on the Board and continue to serve as chair of the Audit Committee, but that the new Chairman of the Board was the president and COO of the company.
One of the reasons he felt comfortable stepping down was because of Taylor, who he says understands entrepreneurship, taking risks, companies at massive scale, technology, product, and he is an engineer.
There are no changes to the company's previously shared outlook for the fourth quarter and full-year, as a result of these leadership changes.
The news that Dorsey may step down gave the stock a boost, but it lost some of its early gains in the first minutes of the week.
Today, the social media network is worth around $40 billion. Square has a public-market worth of over $100 billion, but less than a small number.
Running a single company is hard work. We assume that running two is not a simple feat. Square shares are trading higher this morning. The CEO split time has attracted investor dissent.
In a letter to his team, he said that he owned it. There aren't many people who choose their company over their own ego. We will prove this was the right move.
He praised his successor and said that he had deep trust in Parag. His work over the past 10 years has changed. I am grateful for his skills, heart, and soul. It is his time to lead.
The Board's confidence in my leadership and Jack's continued mentorship, support, and partnership is what I want to thank them for. I am excited about the opportunities ahead and I look forward to building on everything we have accomplished. By improving our execution, we will deliver tremendous value for our customers and shareholders.
A great run.
Over the years, the leadership and direction of the product has been criticized for being too conservative or slow. In recent quarters, the ability to develop and ship new products and services has increased.
The app has introduced a number of new features and acquisitions, which has kept the function largely stagnant for years.
The live audio race with Spaces, then introduced monetization features, like Ticketed Spaces, Tip Jar and livestream shopping, have picked up the pace when it comes to e- commerce. The platform launched its subscription service, called the 'Twitter Blue', which offers a more personalized user experience for a fee.
The social giant opened its checkbook to add more capabilities. Threader, a company that helped develop a thread reading experience for Twitter Blue, is one of the companies that has been acquired by the social network this year.
It is no secret that Dorsey is interested in the technology, but he is not the only one. Bluesky is a project that is housed by the social network, and it is working on a way for users to display NFTs in their profile. The company announced earlier this month that it will build a dedicated team for cryptocurrencies, and this may not affect the momentum of the project. At the time, it was said that he would be working with the new team on the future of cryptocurrencies at the company.
The company did not reply to the request for more information.
Confirmation of Jack's departure and details about his successor are included in this update.
