Who is Parag Agrawal, the new CEO of Twitter?
Learn about the executive that replaced Jack Dorsey
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When Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey announced he was stepping down as CEO of the social media platform on Monday, it came as a surprise to many.
Then all eyes turned to his successor, Parag Agrawal, who was thrust into the spotlight upon the news.
Parag Agrawal CEO: Twitter ( Twitter | Istock / iStock)
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Who is Parag Agrawal?
Agrawal, 37, was born in India and holds a PhD from Stanford University. Before joining Twitter in 2011, he had worked at Microsoft, AT&T and Yahoo, according to Forbes.
Prior to replacing Dorsey as chief executive, Agrawal had been Twitter's chief technology officer since October of 2017.
MIAMI, FLORIDA - JUNE 04: Jack Dorsey creator, co-founder, and Chairman of Twitter and co-founder & CEO of Square on stage at the Bitcoin 2021 Convention. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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In an email to employees announcing he was stepping down, Dorsey hailed the naming of Agrawal as his successor, writing, "The board ran a rigorous process consideration all options and unanimously appointed Parag. He's been my choice for some time given how deeply he understands the company and its needs."
"Parag has been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around," Dorsey continued, adding, "He's curious, probing, rational, creative, demanding, self-aware, and humble. He leads with heart and soul, and is someone I learn from daily. My trust in him as our CEO is bone deep."
According to The New York Times, Agrawal helped rebuild Twitter's "technical infrastructure," has overseen the social media platform's endeavors to incorporate cryptocurrencies, and advocated for the network to be transparent about the shortcomings of its algorithm.
He has also expressed his views on Twitter's decisions on blocking certain users and content.
Former President Donald Trump (Photo Getty Images / Twitter) (Getty Images)
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Agrawal acknowledged to MIT Technology Review last year following the presidential election – and prior to banning former President Donald Trump from the platform – that "defining misinformation is really, really hard."
He added later in the interview, "You wouldn't want us to be adjudicating what's true or what is false in the world."