Who is Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s new CEO?

“I’ve decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders. My trust in Parag as Twitter’s CEO is deep. His work over the past 10 years has been transformational,” Dorsey said in a statement. “I’m deeply grateful for his skill, heart, and soul. It’s his time to lead.”

Agrawal held research positions at Microsoft, Yahoo, and AT&T Labs before settling at Twitter, according to his LinkedIn page. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and a Ph.D. In computer science from Stanford University.

Agrawal has been at Twitter since 2011, and began working there just a few months after Dorsey returned to the company after being pushed out as CEO. Agrawal was promoted to distinguished software engineer within Twitter for his work across revenue, consumer engineering, and audience growth, according to the company’s leadership page. After becoming CTO, he focused on advancements in machine learning across Twitter, according to the company. 

In December 2019, Agrawal was tasked with finding a leader for Project Bluesky, an independent team of architects, engineers, and designers with the goal of developing an “open and decentralized standard for social media.” The project aims for platforms like Twitter to have a less centralized role in deciding which users and communities have a voice online.

Dorsey shared on Twitter that Agrawal was unanimously appointed by the board, and has been his personal choice as successor “for some time.”

“The world is watching us right now, even more than they have before,” Agrawal said in an email to the company Monday morning, which he also tweeted out to nearly 76,000 followers. “Lots of people are going to have lots of different views and opinions about today’s news. It is because they care about Twitter and our future, and it’s a signal that the work we do here matters.”