Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has a put out a series of tweets explaining why he chose to fire two top executives at the company, stating that he would not avoid making difficult discussions about the company just because the social network was being acquired by Elon Musk.
Agrawal fired Kayvon Beykpour, who was head of Twitter Product and Bruce Falck, lead for revenue product at the company. The Twitter CEO has said he will continue to make “hard decisions as needed,” and “embrace the deep complexities of our service and our business. And you can expect more change for the better.”
It should be noted that Musk has said he has put the Twitter acquisition deal on hold, till it can be confirmed that only 5 per cent of Twitter users are bots or fake accounts as the company has claimed in the past. He has also said he is still committed to acquisition.
Agrawal’s decisions to fire two of the company’s top executives during this acquisition period has raised some questions. In Beykpour’s case, the executive was on paternity leave, and he also tweeted that it was the CEO who had asked him to leave the company. Beykpour has largely been credited with many of the new product initiatives at Twitter.
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Agrawal fired Kayvon Beykpour, who was head of Twitter Product and Bruce Falck, who was lead for revenue product at the company.(Image credit: AP)
But it seems Agrawal is now speaking out to control some of the narrative post the acquisition, most of which has been controlled by Elon Musk and his constant tweets.
Agrawal wrote in the thread, “A lot has happened over the past several weeks. I’ve been focused on the company and haven’t said much publicly during this time, but I will now.” He then went on to address the changes to the leadership team and that “some have been asking why a ‘lame-duck’ CEO would make these changes if we’re getting acquired anyway.”
According to Agrawal, while he expects the deal to close, he stressed that he is still “accountable for leading and operating Twitter,” and that no one at the company is just working to keep the lights on. “People have also asked: why manage costs now vs after close? Our industry is in a very challenging macro environment – right now. I won’t use the deal as an excuse to avoid making important decisions for the health of the company, nor will any leader at Twitter,” he wrote.
Check out his tweets
We announced changes to our leadership team and operations yesterday. Changes impacting people are always hard. And some have been asking why a “lame-duck” CEO would make these changes if we’re getting acquired anyway. The short answer is very simple:
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) May 13, 2022
People have also asked: why manage costs now vs after close? Our industry is in a very challenging macro environment – right now. I won’t use the deal as an excuse to avoid making important decisions for the health of the company, nor will any leader at Twitter.
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) May 13, 2022
So what can you expect from me going forward? I’m still focused on doing the job, and that includes making hard decisions as needed. I will continue to embrace the deep complexities of our service and our business. And you can expect more change for the better.
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) May 13, 2022
I will also try to bring more transparency to the work that we do. You won’t see tweets from me on the ‘topic of the day’ or the loudest sound bite, but rather on the ongoing, continuous, and challenging work our teams are doing to improve the public conversation on Twitter.
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) May 13, 2022
He also said he might not be tweeting on the “‘topic of the day or the loudest sound bite,” in a rather clear dig at Elon Musk, and that instead, he would focus “on the ongoing, continuous, and challenging work our teams are doing to improve the public conversation on Twitter.”
According to previous reports, Agrawal is set to gain $42 million if his contract is terminated post the Musk deal. Reuters has reported that Musk already has a replacement in mind for the Twitter CEO, though others have indicated the Tesla boss might himself step in as an interim CEO should the deal go through.
