Jack Dorsey Steps Down As Twitter CEO: ‘There Aren’t Many Founders That Choose Their Company Over Their Own Ego’

On Monday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that he will be stepping down from his role at the social media company. It was previously reported by CNBC that, according to sources who spoke with the outlet’s David Faber, Dorsey was expected to step down.

“Hello team,” Dorsey wrote in an email to Twitter employees that was also posted on his profile. “After almost 16 years of having a role at our company…from co-founder to CEO to Chair to Exec Chair to interim-CEO to CEO…I decided it’s finally time for me to leave. Why?”

“There’s a lot of talk about the importance of a company being ‘founder-led,’” he continued. “Ultimately I believe that’s severely limiting and a single point of failure. I’ve worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders.”

Dorsey then listed three reasons he believes “now is the right time” to step down.

“The first is Parag becoming our CEO,” Dorsey explained. “The board ran a rigorous process considering all options and unanimously appointed Parag. He’s been my choice for some time given how deeply he understands the company and its needs. Parag has been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around. He’s curious, probing, rational, creative, demanding, self-aware, and humble. He leads with heart and soul, and is someone I learn from daily. My trust in him as our CEO is bone deep.”

“The second is Bret Taylor agreeing to become our board chair,” Dorsey continued. “I asked Bret to join our board when I became CEO, and he’s been excellent in every way. He understands entrepreneurship, taking risks, companies at massive scale, technology, product, and he’s an engineer. All of the things the board and the company deserve right now. Having Bret in this leadership role gives me a lot of confidence in the strength of our board going forward. You have no idea how happy this makes me!”

“The third is all of you,” Dorsey wrote. “We have a lot of ambition and potential on this team. Consider this: Parag started here as an engineer who cared deeply about our work and now he’s our CEO (I also had a similar path…he did it better!). This alone makes me proud. I know that Parag will be able to channel this energy best because he’s lived it and knows what it takes. All of you have the potential to change the course of this company for the better. I believe this with all my heart!”

Dorsey then told Twitter employees that Parag Agrawal, the company’s Chief Technology Officer, would be starting as CEO immediately, and that Dorsey would continue to serve on the Twitter board through to the end of his term this coming spring to “help Parag and Bret with the transition.”

“And after that…I’ll leave the board,” Dorsey wrote. “Why not stay or become chair? I believe it’s really important to give Parag the space he needs to lead. And back to my previous point, I believe it’s critical a company can stand on its own, free of its founder’s influence or direction.”

“I want you all to know that this was my decision and I own it. It was a tough one for me, of course. I love this service and company…and all of you so much. I’m really sad…yet really happy. There aren’t many companies that get to this level. And there aren’t many founders that choose their company over their own ego. I know we’ll prove this was the right move,” Dorsey concluded. “We’ll have an all-hands meeting tomorrow at 9:05 AM Pacific to discuss it all. Until then, thank you all for the trust you’ve placed in me, and for the openness to build that trust in Parag and yourselves. I love you all.”

“PS I’m tweeting this email. My one wish is for Twitter Inc to be the most transparent company in the world. Hi mom!” Dorsey added.

As CNBC noted, Twitter shares were up initially following the news.

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