Jack Dorsey will remain as chief executive officer (CEO) of Twitter following a challenge by new investor and activist hedge fund Elliott Management.
Micro-blogging firm Twitter and Elliott Management announced that they have agreed to retain Jack Dorsey as CEO of the company. The hedge fund, which obtained a large stake in Twitter last month, advocated for changes.
One of the issues that came up was that Dorsey was also serving as CEO of payments company Square.
Under the agreement between Twitter and Elliott involved, two new members will be added to its board of directors and the company will receive a $1 billion investment from investor Silver Lake. Twitter is also expected to undertake a $2 billion share repurchase program.
In a statement, Jesse Cohn, partner at Elliott, said: "I am looking forward to working with Jack and the Board to help contribute to realizing Twitter's full potential."
Dorsey co-founded both Twitter and Square and has served as Twitter's first CEO before being replaced in 2008 and returning to the helm in 2015. He spends his mornings at Twitter then goes across the street to devote his afternoons at Square.
Previously, Dorsey expressed plans to live in Africa for a few months this year. However, he announced last week that he is re-evaluating those plans, citing concerns about the novel coronavirus but is seen as a way to please Elliott.
Aside from the share repurchase and new board members, Twitter also announced plans to increase revenue growth. The company is also targeting an increase of 20% or more in its "monetizeable" daily active users.
The company's board is also planning to establish a temporary committee to help evaluate its leadership structure. Patrick Pichette, lead independent director of the Twitter Board, said: "As a Board, we regularly review and evaluate how Twitter is run. And while our CEO structure is unique, so is Jack and so is this Company."
