Who is Parag Agrawal? Twitter’s youngest CEO in S&P 500 and IIT-Bombay graduate
Parag Agrawal did his graduation from IIT-Bombay and PhD in computer science from Stanford University. He joined Twitter in October 2011 as an ads engineer and soon after held the title of the company's ‘Distinguished Software Engineer’.
FollowParag Agrawal, an IIT-Bombay graduate, has replaced Jack Dorsey as the new Twitter chief executive officer, becoming the youngest CEO in top 500 companies. He was unanimously appointed as the new CEO by the Board of Directors.
Agrawal, who has been with the company for 10 years – most recently as chief technology officer – has emerged from behind the scenes to take over one of Silicon Valley’s highest-profile and politically volatile jobs. But who is he, and what can we expect for Twitter under his leadership?
Agrawal, 37, is the latest Indian-origin person to head a major US-based tech company, following the likes of Google-parent Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. He takes over the reins of Twitter at a time when the company is looking to steer towards growth and away from free speech battles.
Prior to his move to Twitter, Agrawal earned a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay and a doctorate in computer science from Stanford University. He joined Twitter in October 2011 as an ads engineer and soon after held the title of the company's ‘Distinguished Software Engineer’.
He has worked as a researcher for Microsoft Corp., Yahoo! Inc. and AT&T Corp., according to his LinkedIn profile. After being named CTO in 2017, he led the company's technical strategy including overseeing advancements in machine learning, according to Twitter's website.
Agrawal is expected largely to pick up where Dorsey left off, continuing to fight for users being lured away by competitors like TikTok and Instagram, said Jill Wilson, the chief marketing officer for Esquire Digital.
Agrawal is the youngest person to run a company in the S&P 500, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Berkshire Hathaway Inc CEO Warren Buffett is the oldest CEO in the S&P 500 at 91. The average age of a CEO among the 500 largest companies was about 58 years, the data show.
