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Twitter names Jack Dorsey as permanent CEO

Twitter names Jack Dorsey as permanent CEO

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Can Jack turn it all around?

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Jack Dorsey will drop the "interim CEO" title and become the permanent chief executive of Twitter. The company just announced the news and board members are placing their full support behind Dorsey, who will also remain CEO of Square. That double duty initially was seen as a strike against Dorsey remaining Twitter's top executive for the long term; at one point the board publicly stated it was searching for someone who could take on the role full time — as most CEOs do. An SEC filing reveals that Twitter formally made the decision on September 30th and also that "there are no plans to provide Mr. Dorsey with direct compensation" for his role as Twitter's chief executive.

But influential Twitter investors have persisted in their calls for Dorsey to lead Twitter, arguing that there are few other individuals who possess his understanding of the service — and his vision for its future. Dorsey, who is one of Twitter's co-founders, has held the interim CEO position since June, when former chief Dick Costolo announced he would be stepping down. Recode first reported that Dorsey had locked down the permanent CEO position, though Twitter had other potential candidates including revenue chief Adam Bain — now appointed chief operating officer — and CFO Anthony Noto. Dorsey's official appointment to the top role also coincides with former CEO Dick Costolo's departure from Twitter's board. As for the new full-time chief's plan, Dorsey laid it all out in a tweet. "Our work forward is to make Twitter easy to understand by anyone in the world, and give more utility to the people who love to use it daily!"