Jack Dorsey confirms Parag Agrawal’s technical ability as “transformational”. (FILE)
Twitter Inc on Monday became the latest Silicon Valley giant to appoint an executive of Indian descent, joining Microsoft and Google in recognizing the Asian nation as one of the richest sources of tech talent. world.
The appointment of former CTO Parag Agrawal to the top position at Twitter further enhances the role immigrants play in the world’s biggest tech companies. He joined Satya Nadella of Microsoft Corp, Shantanu Narayen of Adobe Inc, Arvind Krishna of International Business Machines Corp. and Sundar Pichai of Alphabet Inc among the top executives of US companies from India. Between them, that group of executives tests companies with a combined market value of nearly $5 trillion. Outside of technology, Indra Nooyi led PepsiCo Inc. for 12 years and Ajay Banga as executive chairman of Mastercard Inc after a decade as CEO.
Like his Valley compatriots, Mr. Agrawal comes from an engineering background and has worked his way through the company. At 37, he’s the youngest CEO of any S&P 500 company. Mr. Agrawal holds an engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, the country’s leading technology college that has produced generations of prominent politicians and corporate leaders, including Mr. Pichai and Mr. Krishna. . He gained a foothold in Silicon Valley after transferring to Stanford University for a PhD in computer science.
Twitter co-founder and outgoing CEO Jack Dorsey confirmed Mr Agrawal’s technical abilities as “convertible” in his note on resigning. But it will be the new leader’s skill at tackling tough issues like free speech, race relations and relationships with governments that will soon be put to the test.
In a rare interview a year ago, Mr. Agrawal described Twitter’s approach to disinformation as “an increasingly nuanced approach with a range of interventions.” Dorsey’s long insistence on trying to keep Twitter a neutral platform, he added that “we try not to arbitrate the truth, we focus on the potential for harm.”
In his country of birth, where Twitter has nearly 20 million users, Mr. Agrawal’s company has been attacked on multiple fronts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Authorities there have criticized their reluctance to take down messages supporting the farmers’ protests and their handling of tweets by leaders on both sides of the political divide. Twitter plays a similar role in domestic political discussions as it does in the US, with Prime Minister Modi’s account alone having 73 million followers.
According to Wadhwa, raising Mr. Agrawal would help. “Jack’s arrogance has shut down many governments,” he said. “If you note that Microsoft is not a target of the left or the right in the US, it is because of Satya and his ability to listen to criticism and maintain balance. I hope that Mr. Agrawal also. will do so.”
To date, Mr. Agrawal has maintained a low profile and his experience focuses on product development and market research. He was named Twitter’s first brilliant engineer for his role in helping drive audience growth and revenue prior to becoming CTO. Now as CEO, he’ll find navigating a more India-friendly course essential to broadening Twitter’s outreach goals. The country is already the largest user base for Meta Platforms Inc’s WhatsApp with half a billion users, Alphabet’s YouTube has a roughly as large audience, and Twitter is considered one of the fastest growing markets.
.
