Why Jack Dorsey is Stepping Down as Twitter CEO

Ever since Twitter launched in 2006, everything has pretty much been better. Although there are a thousand and more micro-blogging and social networking platforms today, Twitter mostly stands out as the greatest driver of intellectually astute conversations and message authenticity.

However, co-founder, later turned CEO Jack Dorsey shocked most people on Monday, November 29, when he informed the rest of his Twitter colleagues of his decision to resign from the company he has served for 16 years.

He revealed that current Twitter CTO, Parag Agrawal, will take over as new CEO and that Agrawal “has been behind every critical decision that helped turn Twitter around,” adding that his trust in him as Agrawal is “bone deep.” Dorsey thanked Bret Taylor for becoming the company’s board chair, and finally took some time to acknowledge the hard work of the entire Twitter staff. 

So, why did Dorsey quit from Twitter?

Jack Dorsey is still one of the most influential people in the world. Though he founded Twitter with three of his peers-Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan-his name is the most associated with the network.

In the resignation letter he shared on the platform, Dorsey pointed out why he decided to leave Twitter, adding that although it was a tough decision to make, he has prioritised the company over his ‘ego’.

Dorsey wants a platform free from the shackles of its founders

A true innovator. Through his resignation, Dorsey has proved once again, his giant guts and capacity for bellying big and revolutionary decisions.

“There’s a lot of talk about the importance of a company being ‘founder-led,” he wrote. “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,” he wrote in his letter.

Of course, a founder led company’s direction will always be biased by their visions, irrespective of the amount of research and development they carry out, after all founders usually have this big idea of how and where they want their company to be.

What Dorsey’s resignation allows Twitter to do, is to flourish, to continue its evolution without a founders bias. After 16 years, he feels the core foundation has been laid perfectly for Agrawal.

“I want you all to know that this was my decision and I own it. It was a tough one for me, of course,” he wrote. “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 chooses their company over their own ego. I know we’ll prove this is the right move.” 

Well, right move of not, Dorsey is proving he’s different from most of his rivals who can’t give up their brain child. Like he said, we’ll be waiting to see if this culminates in a win-win situation for both him and Twitter and wish him the best in whatever new adventure he takes up.