The $44bn takeover of Twitter has been punctuated by public clashes between two executives with wildly differing kinds: brash, outspoken billionaire Elon Musk, and the social media firm’s extra measured and diplomatic chief, Parag Agrawal.
Musk has publicly goaded Twitter’s lesser-known chief on the social media platform and repeatedly threatened to stroll away from the deal, citing considerations about its faux accounts knowledge.
Backed right into a nook lower than a yr into his tenure, the enigmatic Agrawal is starting to return out combating in entrance of staffers and the general public, in keeping with a number of present and former staffers who spoke with the Financial Times on situation of anonymity.
“Parag wants to swing back more and is being more aggressive internally,” stated one former Twitter government. “It seems Twitter is willing to go to war to make this deal happen.”
Behind closed doorways, navigating the connection appears much less fraught. The two work together weekly in discussions which are relaxed somewhat than antagonistic, in keeping with folks conversant in the state of affairs. They are naturally aligned on quite a few points about how the corporate must be run, two folks stated — together with the necessity to diversify revenues, construct an even bigger viewers and even loosen up moderation guidelines to maneuver away from everlasting bans.
Nevertheless, Agrawal’s critics are sceptical of how efficient he could be as an unproven chief within the face of an unpredictable opponent. Many cite the 38-year-old’s lack of management expertise and the truth that his negotiating hand can be weakened if Twitter’s enterprise begins to deteriorate, given the uncertainty.
“Parag is in an impossible situation,” stated Brian Wieser, international president of enterprise intelligence at GroupM. “We still don’t know how serious Elon is many months later, but the company has committed to the sale.”
India-born Agrawal has risen up by way of Twitter’s ranks over the previous decade, and was appointed chief government in November after 4 years as chief expertise officer. He joined after graduating with a PhD from Stanford University, interspersed with analysis internships at Microsoft, Yahoo and AT&T.
As the corporate’s first “distinguished engineer” — a title that confers main standing in elite engineering circles — his mind has earned him respect internally.
“My experience of Parag was being impressed with his command of detail and having a broad understanding of the issues that other leaders would skim over,” stated Bruce Daisley, Twitter’s former European vice-president.
Emulating Silicon Valley founders reminiscent of Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, soft-spoken Agrawal wears the identical outfit to work on daily basis — a black T-shirt and darkish blue denims — consistent with the dogma that minimalism yields further productiveness. At a non-public dinner for tech executives held by Salesforce boss Marc Benioff in May, Agrawal took to the ground to defend himself, in keeping with two folks conversant in the state of affairs. Afterwards, impressed friends lined as much as communicate with him, one individual stated.
Unlike his predecessor as chief government, quirky founder Jack Dorsey, Agrawal is extra of an unknown amount past Twitter’s partitions and unique Silicon Valley dinners, making few public appearances, and little use of the platform itself, throughout his first few months within the position.
“Parag feels more like an engineer who’s been put in charge of a product than someone who has a vision,” stated one promoting company government. “Twitter needs a leader who’s going to stand up and make Twitter a presence in the market.”
As a end result, he has confronted scepticism from some board members, notably round his lack of expertise because the boss of a public firm or heading up massive groups. According to a number of folks, the board opted to implement a poison tablet early on in negotiations so as to purchase time partly in order that they may higher perceive Agrawal and his marketing strategy for Twitter, and in addition seek the advice of with buyers.
Some buyers raised considerations about whether or not Agrawal might efficiently ship on his plan, and subsequently leaned in direction of taking a deal, two folks stated.
The board additionally mentioned whether or not to permit Musk to make his supply to shareholders straight — however rejected that choice in favour of negotiating deal phrases and intentionally constructing in some defences and protections lest Musk modified his thoughts.
Agrawal and fellow members of the board have expressed publicly that they want to go forward with the deal on the worth of $54.20 a share, as agreed with Musk. The San Francisco-based firm has advised workers that it expects to carry a shareholder vote on the deal by early August.
But that would nonetheless show difficult. Musk has contested Twitter’s estimate that lower than 5 per cent of accounts on its platform are spam, threatening to stroll away from the deal if it can’t be confirmed. The manoeuvring has been interpreted by consultants and Twitter staffers because the Tesla boss in search of leverage in negotiations or an excuse to attempt to scrap the deal altogether.
Last month, Twitter agreed to permit Musk entry to the “fire hose” of publicly out there knowledge about tweets that it usually sells to social media monitoring corporations — a transfer that some noticed as Agrawal calling Musk’s bluff.
“The opening of the [data trove] is a classic Parag move to show ‘we are not going to blink, we have nothing to hide’,” one other former Twitter government stated.
But on Thursday, The Washington Post reported that Musk’s group had concluded that the info weren’t verifiable, elevating questions as to his subsequent transfer.
So far, Musk has indirectly introduced up renegotiating the deal phrases with Agrawal, in keeping with one individual conversant in the state of affairs and confirmed in an e mail by Musk. Twitter declined to remark.
Agrawal’s success might hinge, partially, on whether or not he can maintain the enterprise in sturdy monetary well being in order to not give Musk negotiating leverage.
Twitter has come below criticism for sluggish progress, sluggish product innovation and a struggling promoting enterprise, amid a wider market slowdown. Its revenues in 2021 stood at $5bn in contrast with Facebook proprietor Meta’s gross sales of $118bn. At its final quarterly earnings, the corporate admitted to overstating its viewers figures by nearly 2mn customers for about three years.
After an initially understated begin, Agrawal has been extra vocal and current within the workplace a number of days every week, three folks with data of operations stated, and took a current tour of a number of international headquarters. His focus has been on overhauling Twitter’s administration construction to encourage higher efficiency and faster product rollouts in areas reminiscent of commerce.
In May, he determined to freeze hiring and implement cost-cutting measures. He additionally fired two widespread senior leaders in command of adverts and product, surprising some workers — although others famous the strikes got here after consumer and income targets had been missed.
He has been frank with workers somewhat than making an attempt to reassure them, an method that has received over loyal longtime workers however unsettled newer joiners, a number of workers stated.
If the deal efficiently closes, Agrawal will most certainly be out of a job as Musk plans to switch him, in keeping with media experiences.
Still, Agrawal has a number of incentives to see the settlement by way of, past saving face and avoiding any potential escalation to the courts. He would go away with a $60.1mn golden parachute if he was fired as a part of the takeover, in keeping with regulatory filings.
On the opposite hand, if the sale collapses, he may very well be tasked with reviving an organization with a crushed share worth and rock-bottom worker morale.
“They’re dangling over a void. Because if the deal falls apart, the shares will collapse [and] then you’re looking at significant headcount reductions, having to retrench,” a former government stated.
Another former government stated he believed Agrawal was prepared to be a “sacrificial lamb” for the corporate.
Additional reporting by Cristina Criddle in London
Source: www.ft.com”