- Former Twitter CFO Ned Segal said the past 6 months have "pulled on every mental muscle."
- The executive was ousted on Thursday, but is set to walk away with a $25.4 million golden parachute.
Twitter's former CFO Ned Segal said goodbye to the company in a Twitter thread on Friday morning, revealing the mental toll he experienced from Elon Musk's back and forth around the deal.
Segal was with the company for over five years before Elon Musk ousted him on Thursday — the same day he sealed his $44 billion deal to take Twitter private.
"The past 6 months have pulled on every mental muscle I've developed in 48 years," Segal said. "You learn so much when times are challenging and unpredictable, when we are tired or feel our integrity questioned. Our team remained kind, respectful, and steadfast. They're lifelong friends."
—Ned Segal (@nedsegal) October 28, 2022
Thursday concluded a months-long saga between Musk and Twitter executives, including Segal, in which the billionaire went from planning to join Twitter's board to offering to buy the company outright in April, only to attempt to walk away from the deal in July. Twitter sued the billionaire and Musk eventually made a U-turn on his decision to buy Twitter earlier this month after his prospects in court appeared bleak.
Despite the turmoil, Segal said he has "great hope" for Twitter and described his time at the company as the "most fulfilling of my career." On Twitter, he changed the bio on his profile to "Former CFO and current fan of @Twitter."
"At its best, it democratizes communication and knowledge, ensuring accountability and equal distribution of info," Segal wrote. "It's a huge responsibility for everyone that shares in the work. I wish them strength, wisdom, and foresight."
The former executive said he is "optimistic" that the social media company will continue to evolve as the "world's town square." Though, Musk has indicated he plans to do away with many of the company's policies around censoring content.
"The printing press also took decades to evolve from misinformation and the need for standards to incredible knowledge and idea sharing across oceans and borders," Segal wrote.
Segal was one of several executives Musk terminated after he closed the deal, including former CEO Parag Agrawal. The executives are set to walk away from the company with millions thanks to golden parachute provisions. The former CFO will receive a $25.4 million payout due to a "change in control" provision in his contract. Meanwhile, Agrawal will walk away with $38.7 million.
Prior to joining Twitter in 2017, Segal served as a senior vice president at Intuit and the head of global software banking at Goldman Sachs. He is also a board member at Beyond Meat.
In his post, Segal said he was "grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such an incredible group of people" at Twitter.
The executives likely won't be the last employees to go. Musk has indicated he plans to initiate a series of layoffs at the company.