Parag Agrawal, a graduate of IIT Bombay and Stanford, joined Twitter in 2011, when the company had fewer than 1,000 workers.
When IIT graduate Parag Agrawal was named CEO of Twitter in November 2021, he joined a growing club of Indian executives ascending to the top of multinational organizations. However, the 38-year-old executive’s short stay at the head of the social media behemoth was hard and chaotic. Less than a year into his tenure as CEO, India-born Agrawal was fired by the company’s new owner, billionaire Elon Musk, who concluded the $44 billion (approximately Rs. 3,37,465 crore) acquisition on Thursday.
Alumnus of IIT Bombay and Stanford, Agrawal joined Twitter in 2011, when the company had fewer than 1,000 employees. He rose through the ranks to become Twitter’s chief technical officer in 2017. Agrawal, considered a disciple of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, was named CEO of Twitter when Dorsey stepped down.
Dorsey said at the time that “my faith in him as our CEO is bone deep” while announcing his plan to stand aside and make Agrawal CEO. Dorsey has said that Agrawal had been his top option for CEO for “some time.” “given how well he knows the firm and its requirements “Every crucial choice that has helped bring this firm around has been made by Parag. He’s inquisitive, perceptive, reasonable, inventive, demanding, self-aware, and modest. He leads with heart and soul, and I learn from him on a regular basis.” Agrawal, who was born in Ajmer, joined a growing list of Indian leaders who lead multinational firms, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen. Indra Nooyi was PepsiCo’s CEO for 12 years until retiring in 2018.
According to a May 2022 forecast report According to securities filings, Agrawal may earn $60 million (approximately Rs. 495 crore) if Musk removes him as CEO, according to The New York Times.
Agrawal’s tenure as CEO of Twitter was difficult and chaotic.
Musk entered the picture just a few months after taking over as CEO. According to a CNN Business story quoting a regulatory filing Musk met with Dorsey in March of this year to “explore the future direction of social media.”
According to CNN, “in the days that followed, Musk met with Twitter’s board and several of its leadership team, including Agrawal; publicly stated that he’d become Twitter’s biggest shareholder; and accepted a position on the company’s board.”
A few days later, Musk tweeted, “Is Twitter dying?”
According to a court filing in late September, Agrawal texted Musk in response to his post, according to the CNN article.
“”You are welcome to tweet ‘is Twitter dying?’ or anything else about Twitter,” Agrawal said in an email to Musk, “but it is my obligation to warn you that it is not helping me make Twitter better in the present environment.” Next time we talk, I’d want you to share your thoughts on the current degree of internal distraction and how it’s affecting our capacity to function… I’d want the firm to get to a point where we’re more resilient and less distracted, but we’re not there yet.” “What did you get done this week?” Musk had asked Agrawal. He revoked his commitment to join the board in two subsequent messages, adding, “I’m not joining the board.” This is a complete waste of time.” According to CNN, he said, “Will make an offer to take Twitter private.”
Agrawal’s difficulties in managing a “The New York Times reported Bob Sutton, an organizational psychologist and professor at Stanford University, as stating that “no one in the world would want to be in those shoes” as he and Twitter struggle with a restive workforce and Twitter’s rising economic issues. According to the New York Times, as Twitter’s chief technology officer, Agrawal “worked on some of Twitter’s complex technological issues and formed ties with his engineering colleagues” as well as Dorsey.
He agreed with Dorsey’s “vision that Twitter’s future depended on upgrading its infrastructure so that it could rely more on machine intelligence and decentralize its services to offer users greater control over their experiences on the site.” The New York Times reported in May 2022 that at a “virtual conference with Twitter executives,” Agrawal “said he was weary.” “At the meeting, Mr Agrawal was “raw” about Twitter’s troubles and the storm of publicity around Mr Musk’s transaction, according to two individuals with knowledge of the incident.” “But he also expressed acceptance of his circumstances and said he would continue ahead with his objectives for the firm,” according to the NYT story.
When he was named CEO in 2021, Agrawal remarked on Twitter that he was “honoured and humbled” by the appointment and thanked Dorsey for his “continuing guidance and friendship.” “Even though it was a decade ago, those days seem like they happened yesterday to me.” I’ve been in your shoes and seen the ups and downs, difficulties and barriers, victories and blunders. But, both then and today, I see Twitter’s great influence, our continuous development, and the amazing prospects that lie ahead of us,” he remarked.
“Our mission has never been more vital. Our people and culture are unlike anything else on the planet. There is no limit to what we can do as a team.” “We have modified our approach to achieve lofty targets, and I feel it is bold and correct.” But our crucial problem is figuring out how to execute on it and produce results – that’s how we’ll make Twitter the best it can be for our customers, stockholders, and everyone of you.” “The whole world is watching us right now, more than ever before.” Many individuals will have varying perspectives and opinions on today’s news. “It’s because they care about Twitter and our future, and it’s an indication that the work we do here is important,” Agrawal wrote in a message last year.
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