However, looking at the wording of his 140-characters-or-fewer resignation statement, any followers without inside knowledge of developments at the company may have thought Ali Rowghani was simply leaving the microblogging service as opposed to the company.
“Goodbye Twitter. It’s been an amazing ride, and I will cherish the memories,” Rowghani wrote.
Goodbye Twitter. It’s been an amazing ride, and I will cherish the memories.
— Ali Rowghani (@ROWGHANI) June 12, 2014
A short while later, just to make it absolutely clear to everyone that Rowghani had left the company, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo jumped online and tweeted to the now former COO, “Thank you for being an incredible executive & partner. Twitter could not have succeeded without you.”
It’s not entirely clear why Rowghani quit after four years at the company – two of those as COO – though Re/code suggested Thursday that the move came following a dispute between Rowghani and Costolo over efforts by the Twitter boss to take away some of his responsibilities.
In addition, there is also said to have been some disquiet among executives at its San Francisco headquarters after the former COO recently sold 300,000 Twitter shares during what is considered to be a critical period for the company as it grapples with a wobbly user growth rate and wavering share price. The share sale took place in May after other executives had promised not to sell any of their own in an effort to demonstrate their confidence in the long-term prospects of the company.
Twitter said it currently has no plans to appoint a new COO, with senior management taking care of relevant matters.
In a further twist Thursday, Chloe Sladden, Twitter’s head of North American media and whose boss happened to be Rowghani, said she was also leaving the company, news she delivered in not one but 12 tweets.
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