Parag Agrawal: India congratulates the new Twitter CEO
Image credit: indianexpress.com
Parag Agrawal, who was born in India and is now the CEO of Twitter, is generating news in his home country as many people rejoice over his selection.
The 37-year-old took over from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who announced his resignation on Monday. Mr Agrawal joined Twitter in 2011 and worked his way up to become the company’s chief technology officer.
He’s been labelled as a safe set of hands, and he’s got a big job on his hands. However, in India, where the microblogging network has more than 30 million users, the announcement of his nomination has sparked jubilation.
On Twitter, many people praised his hiring, noting that he is now the youngest CEO of an S&P 500 company. He became the latest in a long line of Indian CEOs of multinational technology firms.
“Parag has been behind every major decision that has helped in the turnaround of this company. Mr Dorsey said in a tweet.”
“He’s inquisitive, perceptive, logical, inventive, demanding, self-aware, and humble.”
Mr Agrawal posted a letter shortly after the announcement, adding he was excited about the future.
Mr Agrawal is a graduate of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) and possesses a PhD in computer science from Stanford University. Before joining Twitter, he held positions in research at Microsoft, Yahoo, and AT&T, a major US telecommunications company.
All of Mr Agrawal’s past tasks were hidden from prying eyes, but with his new appointment, he has gone from relative obscurity to a big public figure overnight, and his every move will be scrutinised.
Some have already claimed that a tweet he posted in 2010 with a quote from the Daily Show proves he is left-leaning, while others have called him racist. Mr Agrawal has not yet made an official statement.
His appointment as Twitter’s CEO comes at a time when the social media network and the Indian government are at odds over free speech and fake news on the platform.
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