10 Mar, 2020 Dorsey’s deal a test of Twitter’s character
Posted in TechnologyA deal between Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and rebel investment firms Silver Lake and Elliot Management has saved Dorsey’s position at the company. It follows Dorsey’s decision to reconsider plans to move temporarily to Africa to explore investment opportunities.
Oliver Lockett, Analyst in the Thematic Research Team at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:
“This deal won’t ease the scrutiny on Dorsey’s lifestyle or Twitter’s poor investor returns and product development. Twitter has been stagnating for a long time and despite its ability to draw on the followers of celebrities and sports stars to the world’s most high profile heads of state, the site’s valuation remains stuck at 140 characters.
“A platform with Twitter’s influence demands a full-time CEO and not one nine times zones away. Debates over the responsibilities of social media platforms and their possible regulation are intensifying, and a part-time CEO won’t wash in Silicon Valley’s full-on, 24-hour world. Having proved to be an asset to Twitter, the time has come for Dorsey to hand over to someone more willing to reinvent the platform and stretch its performance to its 280 character limit.”