Jack Dorsey steps down from the role of CEO of Twitter. "I've decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders," said Dorsey in a statement.
Parag Agrawal, who has been with Twitter for more than a decade and has served as chief technology officer since 2017, will take over as Twitter CEO effective immediately, the company said.
"My trust in Parag as Twitter's CEO is deep," said Dorsey. "His work over the past ten years has been transformational. I'm deeply grateful for his skill, heart, and soul. It's his time to lead." Dorsey will stay on Twitter's board until his term expires at the company's 2022 stockholders meeting.
On Sunday night, Dorsey sent out a tweet with the message "I love Twitter." In an email sent to employees and shared on Twitter, Dorsey said he worked hard to make sure the company breaks away from its founders.
Dorsey, who helped co-found the company, was Twitter's first CEO from May 2007 to Oct. 2008.
Twitter's stock, which has consistently underperformed the market, jumped more than 10% at the opening bell Monday.
Twitter shares rose 5% to $49.47 in morning trading after the announcement.
Last year, the company agreed with two of its activist investors that kept Dorsey in the top job and gave a seat on the company board to Elliott Management Corp., which owned about 4% of Twitter's stock, and another to Silver Lake.
In an email to employees, Agrawal said that he is "Honored and humbled to take over as Twitter's next CEO." "I've walked in your shoes and, I've seen the ups and downs, the challenges and obstacles, the wins and the mistakes," wrote Agrawal.
