Twitter’s former CEO, Dick Costolo, plans to step down from the social network’s board of directors, according to reports.
He’ll exit by the end of the year or once the company appoints a new chief, The New York Times reported, with Recode saying he’ll leave when a new CEO is found. Both reports cite anonymous sources.
Costolo’s been mulling the idea of stepping down from the board since his exit from the CEO slot was announced in June, according to the Times (Recode said a definite plan has been in place since then).
Costolo, however, chose to remain a board member to help keep the transition to a new chief as smooth as possible, the Times said, at a time when Twitter has been feeling the heat from Wall Street.
The reported plan is the latest wrinkle in the saga of the social network, which has had a difficult time satisfying investors since going public in 2013. Analysts say the company has failed to build out new products and lure more users, and investors had called on Costolo to leave the CEO position.
Recode reported that a new chief will probably be in place by September. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is currently interim CEO, and some have said he’s tempted to return full time. But Dorsey has also said he won’t leave his full-time role as chief of Square, the mobile-payments company he founded after Twitter and that’s reportedly getting ready for an IPO. Twitter’s board has said a new CEO would have to fully commit to the position.
The list of people being considered for the job includes Adam Bain, who’s currently Twitter’s head of global revenue.
Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal had earlier published reports about a possible board shakeup.
