Who could be crazy enough to replace Elon Musk at the head of Twitter? There are many potential candidates – Business AM
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After a long period of silence, Elon Musk announced that he will step down as the CEO of Twitter, responding to the will of the majority of respondents to his famous poll. As he noted, he still needs to find a candidate “crazy enough” to take over.
Why is this important?
Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has not gone without waves. The eccentric billionaire really rushed to the stretcher by making important changes; massive layoffs, renewed paid subscriptions, new upcoming features, and questionable revisions to moderation policies, all accompanied by various slip-ups by the respective director. What cools some users of the social network, but also the advertisers of the platform, which today remains the main source of income for Twitter.In the news: After only two months at the head of the social network at Bluebird, Elon Musk will step aside and replace the position of general manager.
Detail: his decision is not at all surprising, since the CEO of Tesla has previously stated that he does not want to remain at the head of Twitter. He held this position while waiting for the ideal candidate to be found in his place.
- According to sources, it started long before the Twitter poll was conducted CNBC.
- So while Musk doesn’t want to give Twitter users the illusion of a choice, the poll is moot, especially if he claims he wants to quit because he’s sure he would if that happened. A “loss” – he would remain in charge of the “software and server teams”.
- In other words, he will maintain a central position within Twitter by directly overseeing the development of the platform.
Therefore, his replacement could only be a straw man working under the orders of Elon Musk. But who could take that place? The possibilities are many.
An unlimited list of potential candidates
It should be noted that trying to answer this question is, as Bob O’Donnell so rightly points out, Elon Musk at the head of Twitter “is an exercise in futility due to the unpredictability and short duration of each decision”. , reports TECHnalysis Research BBC. But here are some potential substitutes.
- Shriram Krishnan : This is definitely the most obvious choice. An Indian technocrat, he was commissioned by a billionaire to monetize the platform. He is one of the few Twitter employees to survive Musk’s takeover. His past experience at Twitter, Meta and Microsoft can play to his advantage as an investor, technologist and engineer. In addition, his view of the business world, as well as his passion for technology, make him somewhat close to Musk.
- Jared Kushner: The former adviser to the US president and son-in-law of Donald Trump was seen with Elon Musk at the recent World Cup finals in Qatar. A closeness that shows two men can be really close. It should also be noted that this man is also close to the Saudi royal family, which is not one of Twitter’s biggest investors.
- David Sacks: Another figure close to Musk’s inner circle, he is also a technology investor. He was also involved in the launch of PayPal, which merged with Musk’s company at the same time.
- David Marcus : Another member of the “PayPal Mafia”, like Sacks, he is the former president of an online payment service company and therefore close to Musk. A cryptocurrency enthusiast, he was one of the senior executives at Meta, responsible for the Diem digital currency project. If Musk’s plans to monetize Twitter include cryptocurrency integration, then Marcus could be an interesting candidate.
- Sheryl Sandberg: Sandberg, the former CEO of Meta and Mark Zuckerberg’s former right-hand man, is credited with allowing Facebook to grow its revenue by more than 43,000%. An experience that could be particularly interesting for Elon Musk. There is no doubt that he will be able to repeat his feat.
- Jack Dorsey: Who better to take the helm of the company than the co-founder and former owner of Twitter? The latter stepped down as the platform’s CEO in November 2021 under pressure from investors who felt he wasn’t paying enough attention to Twitter — a criticism of Musk by Tesla investors as well. For a while, he supported Musk’s takeover of Twitter.
- Parag Agrawal: Musk could also temporarily replace Dorsey at the helm of Twitter before taking over. During his reign, Twitter was more stable than it was under Musk. The latter could call him to bring stability to the social network.
- Edward Snowden: another potential candidate – who might actually make all the guesswork possible – is whistleblower Edward Snowden. The latter has indeed volunteered to take the torch from Elon Musk. A simple touch of humor or a real nomination, the same is difficult to say.
- Still, it would be quite risky for Musk to choose this solution, which could indeed anger the American authorities and some advertisers, given that Snowden is still wanted by the US today for exposing Washington’s massive electricity surveillance. had fun
An enviable position?
Being the CEO of Twitter after Elon Musk will not only offer benefits. In addition to the salary and perks that the position should offer, the reputation of the replacement — male or female — will inevitably be threatened for working at Musk’s behest, as well as the frustration of investors who are increasingly hesitant to invest in the company as it struggles after the many upheavals it has faced.
They will have to negotiate significant incentives and guarantees to be free to work for the best of the company without resorting to an eccentric billionaire. And it shouldn’t be easy.
