NurPhoto via Getty Images
A The trio of high-ranking Twitter executives are leaving the company, which may or may not get sold to Elon Musk but has already suffered several high-profile departures and a dwindling stock price.
Out are Ilya Brown, a vice president of product management; Katrina Lane, a vice president of Twitter Service; and Max Schmeiser, head of data science. “We continue to be focused on providing the very best experience to the people on Twitter,” says a Twitter spokesperson. “We are thankful for all of their hard work and leadership.”
Their exits come closely behind two firings. Last week, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal fired Kayvon Beykpour, the company’s head of consumer product, and Bruce Falck, its head of revenue product. (By contrast, Brown, Lane and Schmeiser are leaving of their own accord.) At the same time, Agrawal announced a hiring freeze and budget cuts but ruled out layoffs (for now).
As these executives leave, Twitter sits in a state of limbo. Musk on Tuesday said the $ 44 billion deal he negotiated with Twitter’s board can’t move forward until Twitter provides evidence to support its estimate that less than 5% of accounts are spam. The number is a long-existing one, and it seems like a diversionary tactic by Musk to possibly force the board into agreeing to a new price — a lower one after weeks of a tech-stock downturn. Twitter’s board signaled it has no intention (for now) to return to the bargaining table, filing a proxy statement on Tuesday morning and urging shareholders to accept the $ 54.20-a-share deal, saying: “Twitter is committed to completing the transaction on the agreed price and terms as promptly as practicable. “
Twitter stock remains well below $ 54.20 — up somewhat on Tuesday, a 2.3% increase to 38. If investors weren’t perturbed by Musk and the departures and everything else, that number would be much closer to $ 54.20.
