Looks like Jack Dorsey will be able to have it all.
The Twitter cofounder and interim CEO is expected to be named permanent chief executive of the social networking firm, reports Recode’s Kara Swisher and Kurt Wagner. The announcement could come as soon as tomorrow. Twitter declined to comment.
Dorsey has been the top contender for the role since he took the reins three months ago on a temporary basis, when CEO Dick Costolo stepped down. But Dorsey insisted then that he would not give up the CEO position at payment processing company Square, which confidentially filed for an IPO in July. Throughout its CEO search, Twitter’s board has maintained that it was only considering candidates who could make a “full-time commitment” to the company.
It appears the board has finally gotten past that, and believes Dorsey is capable of successfully running two public companies, like Steve Jobs did with Apple and Pixar.
Some investors and analysts who have been growing impatient with the CEO search have been throwing their support behind Dorsey. “At this point, some investors believe the board needs to come to terms with having a CEO who is also CEO of another company,” SunTrust Robinson Humphrey’s Robert Peck wrote in an analyst note last week. “We think Mr Dorsey as CEO is expected and supported by shareholders at this point.”
Frustrations with the search process, and in particular the delay naming a permanent CEO, has led to speculation about a board shakeup. Recode reports that Costolo will depart from the board once Dorsey is officially named CEO. But two other members—Peter Currie and Marjorie Scardino—are under fire as well, because of their relatively small stake in the company and apparent lack of familiarity with Twitter itself.