After mounting criticism of his chaotic leadership on Twitter, including recent decisions to suspend the account of journalists covering technology and introduce (then delete) a controversial policy banning links to rival platforms, Musk posted a poll asking whether he should leave the position of CEO.
The poll ended Monday morning with 57% of voters in favor of Musk handing over the top job to someone else. On Tuesday, the billionaire’s announcement arrived: he will indeed hand over the command of the social network. However, not everything will happen as quickly as many expected, as the CEO will only step down as soon as he has a replacement available.
Musk’s departure from office seemed inevitable regardless of the outcome of the polls, especially given investor pressure. Tesla shares have fallen 34% since its deal to buy Twitter closed and more than 63% since the start of this year as investors fret over its many competing priorities.
The list of people who have volunteered to run the platform includes former T-Mobile CEO John Legere, MIT artificial intelligence researcher Lex Fridman, and rapper Snoop Dogg (who could perhaps run Twitter with the help of his friend Martha Stewart). Tom Anderson, one of the founders of MySpace, also commented on Musk’s poll about stepping down as CEO: “depends on who you get to manage”, with a pensive face emoji.
There are a few other qualified candidates out there, too, like former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and CTO Mike Schroepfer, who both left their posts at the social media giant earlier this year, but convincing them to take on the chaos machine that is Twitter can be tough. Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, CEO of Block and friend of Musk, previously said he would not return to run the social network.
The most obvious potential candidates for a new Twitter CEO are those closest to Musk, who have helped run the company since its acquisition. The short list likely includes investor Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, partner at Craft Ventures, and Sriram Krishnan, general partner at crypto-focused Andreessen Horowitz and former leader of Twitter’s consumer teams.
If Musk chooses someone else, it could allow him to hand over some of the day-to-day responsibility and accountability of running Twitter. But one thing would almost certainly not change: Musk is still in charge. The tycoon has removed the company’s former leadership and board of directors and, for as long as he is the owner and sole director of the board, he will have the power to hire and fire whoever he wants at the helm of the company, whoever he may be.
Jason Calacanis
Calacanis, who emerged in the tech world as a reporter during the dot-com boom, is an early-stage investor who has backed well-known companies like Uber and Robinhood. He has also launched several media properties and hosts two podcasts (one in partnership with Sacks).
Calacanis tweeted on Sunday night asking: “Who would want the most miserable job in tech AND media?! Who’s crazy enough to run Twitter?!?!Calacanis also held his own Twitter poll asking followers whether he or Sacks should run the company, separately or together, or whether someone else should take over. The majority of respondents voted for “other”.
In April, shortly after Musk offered to buy Twitter, Calacanis told the billionaire in a text message that “being the CEO of Twitter is my dream job”.
David Sacks
Sacks, who along with Musk was among the original founders of PayPal, has at least some experience running a social network. He founded and ran the corporate communications platform Yammer before selling it to Microsoft in 2012 for $1.2 billion.
Sacks has been particularly adamant about echoing Musks’ talking points, whether it’s justifying a fight with Apple or trying to stir up outrage over a Twitter account that posted publicly available information about the whereabouts of Musk’s private jet. A Twitter user asked Sacks last month what he and Musk disagreed about, and Sacks responded with just one thing: “Chess.”
Sriram Krishnan
On paper, Krishnan might be the most obvious choice of the bunch. He has direct experience working on the Twitter product, having previously helped manage the teams responsible for platform features such as search and the initial timeline. He also previously worked on mobile ad products for Snap and Facebook.
More recently, he has invested in cryptocurrency startups at Andreessen Horowitz, which could give him useful experience in fulfilling Musk’s goals of developing Twitter payment capabilities and making it more than just a social media app.
Krishnan is arguably the least known, and therefore perhaps the least controversial, of Twitter’s current leadership team, which in turn could help deflect some of the recent negative attention the company has received.
“Jokers”
Some Twitter users have speculated about other potential leaders at the social media company, including Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was spotted watching the World Cup with Musk over the weekend.
Kushner is friends with the Saudi royal family, who in turn are big investors in Twitter. Before working as a White House consultant under Trump, Kushner worked for his family’s real estate development company, and last year he said he would leave politics and start an investment firm. Kushner also owned New York’s weekly newspaper, the New York Observer.
This article used as a source the writing by Clare Duffy for the site CNN Business.
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