Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR)’s head of communications is exiting the organization indicating that the company may be set for a bigger than anticipated shift in strategy under its current caretaker CEO. Gabriel Stricker who was Twitter’s head of communication since 2012 and also for some time headed the marketing and media partnerships announced his departure on Thursday morning but did not elaborate.
Twitter gave a statement that seemed to put some of the blame for the organization’s recent growth struggles on Stricker. The latter expressed gratitude to Twitter for an extraordinary ride and dubbed it as much more than a company. Twitter’s interim CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey thanked Gabriel and called his stint a class act.
Stricker had earlier worked as a senior communications executive at Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). Twitter said that from now on its communication staff will be under general counsel Vijaya Gadde as the company tries to get the replacement for Stricker.
Twitter had been finding it hard to persuade investors that it can reverse slowing user growth and increase its share of the advertising market because of which the company has received negative press.
The first quarter saw Twitter having its weakest revenue growth ever. According to analysts, the nature of its product has made it difficult for the company to increase the number of its monthly active users which has stagnated at 203 million users.
Twitter’s latest statement indicates that the organization is seeking a leadership that will give a more compelling and better picture of its potential. In what seems to be an attempt to have bolder and quicker changes, Twitter has been declaring a series of new product features.
Twitter’s leadership events triggered off speculation regarding CEO succession plans. As per sources, Twitter president of global revenue, Adam Bain, is the top contender. The organization declared last month that it had roped in executive search firm, Spencer Stuart, to evaluate and hire candidates both from internal and external sources. Dorsey is also a major contender for the job.
Sources: forbes.com, businessinsider
