Elon Musk said he has hired a new chief executive to lead Twitter, who will take the job in six weeks, laying the groundwork for new leadership on the platform the billionaire bought for $44 billion last year.
Musk has served as CEO since the acquisition but has consistently said it will be temporary. He tweeted Thursday: “Excited to announce that I have hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will start in 6 weeks!”
He added that he would transition to executive chairman and chief technology officer, “overseeing the product, software and systems operator (system operations)”. He did not say who he intends to name as chief executive.
The announcement comes amid growing pressure from shareholders of Tesla, the electric car maker Musk also runs, to shift his focus to the company, whose shares have fallen over the past year up to 30%. Shares of Tesla rose about 2% on the news.
Twitter investors and bankers have also been hoping that Musk will pick a new management soon, according to people familiar with the matter.
Musk said in December that he would step down as Twitter’s chief executive if he found someone “dumb enough to take the job” after polling users on whether he should resign from the role. The poll drew 17.5 million votes, with 57.5 percent calling for him to step down.
His six months at the helm of the social media platform saw a major reorganization in which he cut about 90% of its workforce and eased content moderation. The moves have alienated some high-profile users and advertisers, hurting Twitter’s revenue.
However, Musk said in March that following his cost-cutting efforts, the platform’s financials were improving enough that the company could return to positive cash flow next quarter. He announced several new features in recent weeks, including encrypted messaging.