News Digest

Jack’s back and this time it’s official: Dorsey confirmed as Twitter boss

Twitter Inc has named co-founder and interim Chief Executive Jack Dorsey as its permanent CEO, ending months of speculation about who would take the reins at the company. Dorsey will remain head of fast-growing mobile payments company Square, which he also co-founded, potentially setting up conflicts of interest. Twitter had previously said the CEO job would be a full-time position, which seemed to exclude Dorsey if he continued to run Square. Some investors had expressed concerns about whether Dorsey could run both Twitter and Square, which is expected to go public later this year.

We are naming @adambain COO of Twitter, we’re working to change the composition of our Board, and I will serve as CEO of Twitter and Square!

Jack Dorsey tweets the news, naturally…

However, others said Dorsey was able to do both jobs, and was a more effective leader now than in 2008, when the co-founder was fired from his first stint as Twitter CEO. Investors and analysts have lauded Dorsey’s success at Square and faster product rollouts at Twitter since he took the helm in July. Those include a widely available “buy now” button that allows users to make purchases directly through Twitter; Project Lightning, expected to roll out later this year and which would allow users to follow live events through selected tweets and photos; and a partnership with Square that lets users to make political donations through Twitter. Twitter said there were no plans to provide Dorsey with direct compensation for his role as CEO.

Twitter is the most powerful communications tool of our time It shows everything the world is saying… 10-15 minutes before anything else.

Jack Dorsey