Twitter To Appoint Former Google CFO As Chairperson After Investor Push

Twitter Inc. TWTR named Patrick Pichette, a former Google executive as the board's chairperson, bringing an outsider to lead its board for the first time ever.

What Happened

Pichette, who served as a chief financial officer at Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG owned Google had been on the board as an independent director since the end of 2018, reported Reuters.

Omid Kordestani, the outgoing executive chairperson, will continue to serve as a director on the 11-member board, which has three new members.

Why It Matters

The appointment of Pichette comes three months after Elliott Management hedge fund had pressed for the ouster of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

The fund also insisted on improving corporate governance and expected the company to strive for a higher share price, reported Reuters.

Pichette’s appointment is expected to lead to greater management scrutiny and a focus on financial matters at Twitter.

An understanding between Elliott and Twitter lets Dorsey continue on the board and gives board seats to the fund, as well as others.

Jesse Cohn, who undertook the campaign on behalf of Elliott, Egon Durban, co-CEO of Silver Lake, and Fei-Fei Lei, an artificial intelligence expert, were appointed board members as part of the deal.

Dorsey has taken on President Donald Trump, a prolific user of Twitter, by labeling the president’s tweets in need to be fact-checked.

Trump, in return, has vowed that he would not let Twitter stifle free speech. He went on to sign an executive order that diminishes legal immunities available to social media platforms.

Twitter Price Action

On Tuesday, Twitter shares closed 1.16% higher at $32.26.