DATELINE NEW YORK: Twitter has appointed Parag Agrawal, who has pledged to “reshape the future of public conversation,” as its CEO succeeding Jack Dorsey, the  embattled social media company announced in November. The IIT Bombay graduate ascends to one of the most powerful roles in the social media universe that is facing criticism from different political forces around the world for its capacity to control discourses and while also being sometimes a conduit for disinformation.

He will face the challenges of navigating the political minefields of social media and setting right the company’s faltering financial performance. Agrawal joins a select group of CEOs of Indian origin heading technology companies in the US. They include Sundar Pichai, who heads Google and its parent company Alphabet, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, IBM’s Arvind Krishna, and Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen. Agrawal said, “I am incredibly energised by the opportunities ahead. By continuing to improve our execution, we will deliver tremendous value for our customers and shareholders as we reshape the future of public conversation.” According to the Twitter announcement, Agrawal has a PhD from Stanford University and joined Twitter in 2011 becoming its Chief Technology Officer in 2017. Dorsey said, “My trust in Parag as Twitter’s CEO

is deep. His work over the past 10 years has been transformational. I’m deeply grateful for his skill, heart and soul. It’s his time to lead.”