Assuming all goes according to plan, Elon Musk won’t own Twitter for a few more months, but his quick deal with the company has observers wondering what his acquisition would mean for his management team.
Will CEO Parag Agrawal, who held that role for just four months, stay there? Will Musk, who already runs several companies, try to run the platform himself? Could co-founder Jack Dorsey, who just left to focus on running payments company Block, return to an executive role?
Musk, of course, is notoriously unpredictable, but one thing seems clear: Twitter’s leadership is likely to look a lot different after the deal than it does today.
There are some obvious early indicators that this is going to happen. Twitter’s board announced Monday that it had agreed to sell the social media company to Musk in a deal valued at $44 billion.
The deal came just 11 days after Musk – who was initially offered a seat on the company’s board but declined – made what he called his “best and final” offer for the company. In his offer letter, Musk said, “I have no confidence in management.”
At an employee general meeting that Agrawal and chairman Bret Taylor held on Monday, Taylor said the company’s board of directors “no longer exists on the other side of this transaction.”
Then on Tuesday, Musk publicly criticized two of the company’s top legal executives on Twitter, leading each to face a barrage of hateful comments on the platform.
“[Musk] He’s probably not happy with the management team and the board, and I think that’s a big reason why the initial offer to sit on the board and see how things play out over the next two years is something he just wasn’t interested in.” , said Angelo Zino, senior industry analyst at CFRA Research.
Twitter declined to comment on the case. Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
The fate of the Twitter CEO
Many analysts agree that Agrawal will likely be among those fired when the Musk acquisition is completed.
He told employees on Monday that he is “optimistic” about the company’s future, but it was no longer clear what kind of working relationship he would have with Musk. After it was announced that Agrawal would take over from Dorsey in November, Musk tweeted a photo comparing the new CEO to former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
“It is difficult for me to see a situation where [Agrawal] remain CEO after the deal,” said Daniel Newman, principal analyst at technology research firm Futurum Research.
“It’s unfortunate because I don’t think his term was long enough to fully indict him. I just think from Musk’s comments, it’s pretty clear he wants to go straight from where the strategy was,” the analyst said.
In some ways, the change in leadership – if it happens – may reflect Twitter’s long-standing struggles to turn its powerful user base and rampant influence in the media and political worlds into a healthy business, according to the Wedbush analyst. , Dan Ives.
Twitter shares are currently trading just 15% above their IPO price nearly 10 years ago, compared to rival Facebook, whose shares have gained 273% over the same period.
Musk will also likely look to change Twitter’s internal culture to better align his vision for the company.
It is not exactly clear what this view is. On the one hand, Musk said he wants to “unlock” the “huge potential” of Twitter. But on the other hand, he said his acquisition isn’t about money and made suggestions to the platform, such as removing restrictions on content, which could go against the app’s core advertising revenue model.
Whatever his plans, the billionaire will almost certainly want to stack the company’s management team with leaders who are on the same page.
“He’s going to hire people who understand his vision, understand the kind of work, product and culture he’s trying to create,” Newman said.
“There is no doubt that this will be a 180 degree cultural shift. Tesla is known for a very difficult culture, very demanding with people, [enquanto] Twitter was seen as a little bit softer culture, a little bit more considerate of people and obviously very attentive to a lot of social issues. I think Musk will be very prudent to make sure he picks the talents he thinks can help him carry his mission forward.”
Jack Dorsey
Even if Musk cleans house on Twitter, it seems unlikely that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO will want to run Twitter himself, at least not for long, given his many commitments.
He would also quickly learn about the not-so-fun parts of being a social media CEO. This role faces intense scrutiny and risks being called to testify before lawmakers on decisions related to harmful content, data privacy, and more.
Musk has already received a warning from EU Commissioner Theirry Breton that Twitter must meet Europe’s new high standards for content moderation or risk fines, or even a possible ban.
He might want to avoid putting himself in that position, given how much his other companies rely on government contracts.
Many of the company’s followers are now speculating whether Musk can encourage Dorsey – who stepped down as CEO in November and is expected to step down from the board in May – to return to a leadership role at Twitter after the deal is concluded.
While the Twitter co-founder also has other options as CEO of financial services firm Block, Musk and Dorsey seem to get along well and may agree on a vision for the platform.
The two eccentric tech titans, billionaires and crypto lovers have exchanged friendly comments on Twitter over the years.
When Twitter was facing pressure from an activist investor in 2020, Musk tweeted, “Just want to say I support @Jack as the CEO of Twitter. He has a good ❤️.” More recently, Musk praised the new “Block Head” title that Dorsey took on at Block.
On Monday night, Dorsey responded to Musk’s planned takeover of Twitter in a somewhat cryptic tweet, which began with a link to Radiohead’s song “Everything In Its Right Place.”
“Elon’s goal of creating a platform that is ‘as reliable as possible and broadly inclusive’ is right,” Dorsey said. “This is the right way… I believe in it with all my heart.”
Dorsey also noted that Twitter has been “my one problem and my biggest regret,” saying, “It belongs to Wall Street and the ad model. Taking it back from Wall Street is the correct first step.”
In recent weeks, Dorsey has criticized Twitter’s board and suggested that it disagrees with its stance as a public company.
“He wants to be a public good at the protocol level, not a company,” Dorsey said. “Solving the problem of being a company, however, Elon is the singular solution I trust.”
In some ways, a Dorsey return under Musk would seem surprising. The Twitter co-founder has overseen the platform during many of its struggles to grow its user base and profits.
Dorsey has also undoubtedly had at least some influence on existing Twitter culture, which Musk may try to reshape. And Twitter said Dorsey was responsible for many of the company’s biggest and most controversial decisions, most notably the removal of former President Donald Trump’s account, which Musk appears to oppose.
Still, if Musk’s plans for Twitter align with “what Dorsey saw at the company but lost control of over the years, it could be an interesting way for him to come back and run the company he always envisioned running the company.” , but never had the support to do it,” Newman said.
Source: CNN Brasil
I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
