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  4. From ex-CEO Parag Agrawal to Vijaya Gadde, here are the top Twitter executives who have been fired or left the company since Elon Musk's takeover

From ex-CEO Parag Agrawal to Vijaya Gadde, here are the top Twitter executives who have been fired or left the company since Elon Musk's takeover

From ex-CEO Parag Agrawal to Vijaya Gadde, here are the top Twitter executives who have been fired or left the company since Elon Musk's takeover
Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion on October 27.Adrees Latif/Reuters
  • Elon Musk took over Twitter after his deal to buy the platform went through on October 27.
  • The billionaire's first move was to fire CEO Parag Agrawal and three more top execs.

Musk is overhauling Twitter

Musk is overhauling Twitter
Elon Musk.      Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world's richest man, sealed the deal and acquired Twitter for $44 billion on October 27 after months of costly litigation.

Following his takeover, one of his first moves was to fire four top executives. In the days since, others have also decided to leave on their own terms.

Musk had already put in motion wide-ranging plans for Twitter, including charging users for verification, bringing back video-sharing app Vine, and laying off staff, as he plans to overhaul the company. He has scrapped Twitter's board of directors, becoming its sole director.

Here are all the executives and top managers who have either been fired or left the social media company following Musk's takeover.

CEO Parag Agrawal

CEO Parag Agrawal
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Agrawal joined Twitter in 2011 as a software engineer. He became chief technology officer in October 2017 following the departure of Adam Messinger.

He was appointed CEO in November 2021 after Jack Dorsey stepped down. He spent almost a year in the role, until Musk fired him on October 27.

While the 38-year-old only ran the company for less than a year, he's set to walk away with a payout of $38.7 million, though sources told both The Information and The New York Times that Musk dismissed him and other executives "for cause," which means he could avoid paying out severance pay and unvested stock awards.

Agrawal's relationship with Musk was rocky, with the billionaire accusing him of hiding essential data about fake accounts on the platform.

Chief financial officer Ned Segal

Chief financial officer Ned Segal
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Segal, who was fired by Musk on October 27, tweeted the next day that the six months leading up to Musk finally purchasing the social-media app "have pulled on every mental muscle I've developed in 48 years."

He added: "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."

Segal said he has "great hope" for Twitter and described his time at the company as the "most fulfilling of my career." He changed his Twitter bio to "Former CFO and current fan of @Twitter."

Segal joined Twitter in August 2017. He was a longtime Goldman Sachs banker who had been the senior vice president of finance at Intuit in Silicon Valley before joining Twitter.

Top legal and policy executive Vijaya Gadde

Top legal and policy executive Vijaya Gadde
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Twitter

Gadde is mostly known for leading the team that decided to ban former president Donald Trump from the platform following the January 6 riots while then-CEO Jack Dorsey was on vacation.

Gadde joined Twitter in 2011 as a legal director.

Gadde reportedly cried during a meeting wherein she expressed concerns that the company could change amid Musk's takeover, Politico reported.

Musk said in May that kicking Trump off Twitter had been a "morally bad decision" and "foolish in the extreme," per the Associated Press.

Gadde was fired by Musk within hours of him taking control of Twitter.

General counsel Sean Edgett

General counsel Sean Edgett
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images

Edgett joined Twitter in 2012, leaving his role as legal director of corporate and securities for NetApp, a network storage solution provider.

After being fired by Musk, he tweeted: "Twitter is full of the most amazing people. I have so much gratitude for my former team and colleagues. Keep taking good care of this place, Tweagle."

Edgett was publicly praised by a number of Twitter staffers after his departure.

One user said: "I'm so proud to have worked with [Vijaya Gadde] and [Sean Edgett]: thoughtful, compassionate, principled leaders that made this platform safer ... Their loss from Twitter will be felt immensely."

Another wrote: "Sean - you are a legend. Thank you for your leadership and humanity always. It's been a pleasure."

Chief customer officer Sarah Personette

Chief customer officer Sarah Personette
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Advertising Week New York

Personette, who led Twitter's advertising sales, said that she had resigned the day after Musk took charge and that her work access had been cut off three days later.

While she didn't say why she left the company, Personette said: "It has been the greatest privilege to serve all of you as a leader and a partner." She had spent around four years at the company.

"Many have heard me say this but the most important role I believe I played in the company was championing the requirements of brand safety," she added.

She shared some advice for Twitter workers, tweeting: "Remember that we create the organization we want to be a part of. No one else."

Just hours before she resigned, Personette had tweeted that she'd had a "great discussion" with Musk the evening before.

Chief people and diversity officer Dalana Brand

Chief people and diversity officer Dalana Brand
Twitter

Brand was the chief people and diversity officer at Twitter. She took that role in February 2022 and spent around four years in total at Twitter. She resigned Friday.

"It has truly been one of the best experiences of my career," she tweeted. "I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with some of the most brilliant passionate, and dedicated folks anywhere."

Chief marketing officer Leslie Berland

Chief marketing officer Leslie Berland
Francois Durand/Getty Images for Twitter

Berland left the company on Tuesday, Insider reported. The New York Times, Bloomberg, and Reuters also reported that she had left.

Berland tweeted a solitary blue heart on Tuesday afternoon.

General manager of consumer and revenue product Jay Sullivan

General manager of consumer and revenue product Jay Sullivan
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Sources told Insider that Musk let Sullivan go on Friday.

The New York Times and Reuters also reported that Sullivan had left Twitter.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Sullivan joined Twitter in November 2021 after stints at Facebook parent company Meta, and Groupon.

General manager for core technologies Nick Caldwell

General manager for core technologies Nick Caldwell
Carina Johansen/Getty Images

Sources told Insider that Musk let Caldwell go on Friday.

Caldwell describes himself in his Twitter bio as a "former Twitter Exec." Sources also told The New York Times and Reuters that Caldwell had left the company.

On Sunday, he tweeted: "I'm thankful to have such amazing friends and family."

He left Google to join Twitter as its vice president of engineering in June 2020, becoming a general manager around 18 months later, per his LinkedIn profile.

Chief accounting officer Robert Kaiden

Chief accounting officer Robert Kaiden
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Kaiden left the company this week, becoming one of the last execs who was at Twitter before Musk's arrival to depart, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

VP of global client solutions Jean-Philippe Maheu

VP of global client solutions Jean-Philippe Maheu
Tayfun Coskun/Getty Images

Maheu has left the company, sources told Bloomberg and Reuters.

One person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Maheu was seen being escorted out of Twitter's offices. As of Monday, Maheu was continuing to tweet about developments at the company.

He had worked at Twitter for nearly a decade, per his LinkedIn profile.


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