Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Twitter, has announced that he has hired a new CEO for the social media platform.
He tweeted on Thursday that she will be starting in about six weeks and that he will transition to being the executive chair and chief technology officer, overseeing product, software and system operations.
Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!
My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2023
The tweet comes amid a turbulent period for Twitter, which has faced backlash from users and regulators over its policies and features.
Since Musk completed his $44 billion takeover of Twitter in October 2022, he has fired several top executives, scaled down the number of employees, reversed bans on suspended users such as former US President Donald Trump, and introduced controversial changes such as Twitter Blue, a subscription service that offers exclusive perks and content.
Many users have expressed dissatisfaction with Musk’s management of Twitter, accusing him of undermining the platform’s integrity and credibility. Some have also raised concerns about his potential conflicts of interest, given his involvement in other businesses such as SpaceX, Tesla and Neuralink.
Critics have also questioned his motives for buying Twitter, which he said was “to try to help humanity” by creating a “common digital town square” where diverse beliefs can be debated.
However, Musk has defended his vision for Twitter, saying that he is a free speech absolutist who wants to avoid creating an echo chamber for hate and division. He has also said that he plans to invest more in innovation and user experience, and that he hopes to make Twitter profitable and sustainable in the long term.
The identity of the new CEO has not been revealed yet.