Twitter Inc (TWTR) COO Rowghani Unexpectedly Resigns

Updated on

In a surprise move, Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) COO Ali Rowghani announced his resignation from the firm today. Not so surprisingly, Rowghani announced his resignation by Twitter.

Ali Rowghani @ROWGHANI

Goodbye Twitter. It’s been an amazing ride, and I will cherish the memories.

dick costolo @dickc

@ROWGHANI Thank you for being an incredible executive & partner. Twitter could not have succeeded without you.

In a statement from the company, it was noted that Rowghani would remain an employee of the company and act as a strategic adviser to the CEO.

Rowghani bio

Rowghani took over as the COO at Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) in December 2012. Before that, he had been the Chief Financial Officer of Twitter from March 2010 to December 2012.

In his early career, he was employed in several roles at Pixar Animation Studios, Inc. from June 2002 to March 2010, including as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning.

Rowghani earned a B.A. in International Relations and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Possible reasons for resignation

Kara Swisher at Re/code reported yesterday Rowghani had been stripped of his power to oversee product after Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR)’s failures to grow, and that move is very likely related to his resignation as COO

Rowghani also sold 300,000 shares of Twitter for $9.9 million right after the lockup period ended even though Twitter’s other major executives and investors committed to holding their shares. Swisher says employees asked about this at a group meeting, and Rowghani said he was donating the money for research against a disease that killed his father.

Another possible reason for the resignation was that Rowghani recently received a very positive profile in the Wall Street Journal just before Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR)’s Q1 earnings report. An anonymous employee called Rowghani the “co-CEO” in the WSJ article, and Swisher says top management and board members were upset with the what they felt was an inaccurate description of his position with the firm.

Leave a Comment