Unlike his predecessor, co-founder Jack Dorsey, Agrawal had a significantly lower visibility within the firm until Monday, with only approximately 24,000 Twitter followers compared to Dorsey’s over six million.
Parag Agrawal, the new CEO of Twitter, rose from relative obscurity as the platform’s technology expert to become the first Indian-born executive to oversee a major American corporation.
Unlike his predecessor, co-founder Jack Dorsey, Agrawal had significantly lower visibility within the firm until Monday, with only approximately 24,000 Twitter followers compared to Dorsey’s over six million.
But, with a tweet that began, “Thank you, Jack, I’m honored and humbled,” Agrawal assumed the reins of a firm that aimed to thrive rather than fight free speech disputes.
Following the likes of Google parent Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Agrawal is the latest Indian-born talent to be selected to lead a major US-based software corporation.
In a memo to Twitter employees, Dorsey said of Agrawal, “He’s been behind every crucial decision that helped turn this company around.”
“He is someone I learn from on a regular basis because he leads with his heart and soul. My faith in him as our CEO is unwavering.”
Agrawal, who earned a PhD from Stanford University in California and studied computer science and engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, joined Twitter in 2011 and ascended through the ranks to become its CTO by 2017.
He managed machine learning and artificial intelligence, as well as the company’s overall technological strategy, as the firm’s chief of technology.
These qualifications make him an obvious contender to succeed Dorsey, according to Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi.
