Posted by The 45-year-old founder also runs payments company Square, which is worth almost $100bn and accounts for most of his $12bn fortune
Twitter boss Jack Dorsey steps down
Jack Dorsey is stepping down as chief executive of Twitter after six years in the role.
He will be replaced by Parag Agrawal, who has worked for Twitter for more than a decade and been chief technology officer since 2017.
Bret Taylor has also been named as the new chairman, succeeding Patrick Pichette who will remain on the board.
Mr Dorsey will also stay on the board until the 2022 annual meeting.
CNBC reported that Mr Dorsey was about to resign just before markets opened, sending shares up by a tenth before the stock was suspended.
Shares were 3.5pc higher at $48.67 after trading resumed.
The 45-year-old founded Twitter in San Francisco in 2006 and returned as chief executive in 2015 after the company went public.
Mr Dorsey was fired in 2008 over concerns about his management style and reportedly being distracted by outside hobbies.
He also runs the payments company Square, which is worth almost $100bn and accounts for most of his $12.3bn (£9.2bn) fortune.Advertisement
Mr Dorsey has come under repeated pressure during his time at Twitter for allegedly failing to deal with its hate speech issues.
He was also criticised by Republicans last year after Twitter blocked users from sharing a New York Post story containing claims against Joe Biden’s son Hunter ahead of the presidential election.
Mr Dorsey survived an effort from activist investors Elliott Management and Silver Lake Partners to oust him last year.
He had come under fire for outlining plans to temporarily move to Africa while continuing to run both companies, but cut a deal with the investors that allowed him to remain in charge.
His dual roles running both Twitter and Square have led to questions over his leadership. Before appointing him in 2015, Twitter’s board said it would not hire somebody who could not commit full time, before changing tack and appointing Mr Dorsey.
On Sunday, he tweeted: “I love Twitter.”
Mr Dorsey has expressed a growing interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in recent years.