Twitter CEO Dick Costolo is stepping down from his role, as the company striggling with stalling growth and the rise of competitors such as Instagram and WeChat.
In a statement, he said he was “tremendously proud of the Twitter team”.
Twitter said that its board had formed a committee to undertake the task of finding a successor.
Following the announcement, shares in the company jumped by more than 7% in trading after US markets had closed.
Dick Costolo to step down as CEO, will remain on Board, and Jack Dorsey appointed Interim CEO, effective July 1
— TwitterIR (@TwitterIR) June 11, 2015
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who essentially invented the service and was its first CEO, will take over as interim CEO. Costolo will stay on Twitter’s board.
Dorsey will continue to lead Square, the mobile payments company he founded after he first left Twitter in 2008.
This is Dorsey’s second time returning to Twitter in an increased capacity. He returned in 2010 to lead product after Costolo became CEO, and then gradually scaled back his commitment again.
In announcing his resignation, Mr Costolo said in a statement: “I am tremendously proud of the Twitter team and all that the team has accomplished together during my six years with the company.
On a conference call to discuss the move, he added that he had decided to go now because he felt the continued scrutiny if he remained would be a “distraction” and of “no help to the company”.