To say the least, Jack Dorsey’s had an eventful two weeks. It started with his officially being named CEO at Twitter, involved some tough decisions about layoffs, and brought news that the other company he runs, Square, has filed to go public.
Here’s a recap of Dorsey’s last 12 days:
Monday, Oct. 5: Twitter’s board officially names Jack Dorsey as CEO. Along with the announcement, former CEO Dick Costolo resigns from the board and Dorsey steps down as chairman. Adam Bain, the company’s president for global revenue and another contender for Twitter’s top job, gets promoted to chief operating officer.
Tuesday, Oct. 6: The first chapter of Twitter’s turnaround under Dorsey begins with the highly anticipated launch of Moments, previously code named Project Lightning (nevermind the fact this was in the works during Costolo’s reign). For months, executives have built up Moments as an important rollout. The hope is the feature, which packages tweets into collections people can follow, will make the service less confusing to newcomers.
Wednesday, Oct. 7: A filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission reveals Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud increased his holdings in Twitter to 34.9 million shares. This makes him the company’s second largest shareholder, with a stake bigger than Dorsey’s. It might seem like a vote of confidence, but the Saudi billionaire has made no secret of his opinion that Dorsey shouldn’t run both Twitter and Square on a permanent basis.
Thursday, Oct. 8: Finally, a calm day.
Friday, Oct. 9: Uh oh, the rumor mill says layoffs are coming.
Saturday, Oct. 10—Monday, Oct. 12: Long weekend! (Columbus Day is a US bank holiday.)
Tuesday, Oct. 13: And the ax falls. Dorsey said he had to make ”some tough but necessary decisions,” cutting 8% of staff across the company. The biggest reductions come from the product and engineering departments.
Wednesday, Oct. 14: Twitter names Omid Kordestani, formerly Google’s chief business officer, as its executive chairman. He’s pretty new to tweeting. The same day, Dorsey’s payment-processing company, Square, files to go public. The S-1 filing acknowledges the risks that comes with Dorsey’s dual CEO roles. “This may at times adversely affect his ability to devote time, attention, and effort to Square,” it warns. Dorsey also reveals he is donating 20% of his stake in Square to support a new organization he created called Start Small Foundation, which he says will invest in underserved communities.
Thursday, Oct. 15: Is it the weekend yet?
Update: Steve Ballmer, owner of the LA Clippers and former Microsoft CEO, gets on the Dorsey bandwagon. In a tweet sent Thursday at 10 pm, he praises Doresy’s leadership and reveals he’s purchased a 4% stake in the company.
Friday, Oct. 16: TGIF.