Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey will probably delay his planned temporary relocation to Africa due mainly to the Covid-19 epidemic ravaging the world presently. It could be recalled that the Twitter boss had in November 2019, during a visit to Nigeria surprised many by announcing that in 2020 he will be moving to a country in Africa for six months. Adding that “Africa will define the future, but not sure where yet, but I’ll be living here for 3-6 months mid 2020. Grateful I was able to experience a small part.”
However, Jack Dorsey seems to be backtracking from his African plans, citing concerns over the global Coronavirus outbreak. He made this known during a telecoms conference over the week that there is need to take a cautionary approach to the planned relocation as events are unfolding globally especially as concerns the corvid-19 outbreak. Speaking, he said that “ with everything happening with the world, particularly coronavirus, I have to reconsider what’s going on and what that means for me and for the company,” he said, adding, “next time we give updates on this, I’ll explain all the ‘whys’ and give much deeper context.” He added that “I had been working on my plans where I’d work decentralized, as my team and I do when we travel, but in light of COVID-19 and everything else going on I need to reevaluate,” Dorsey said. “Either way we’ll continue to pursue opportunities in Africa.”
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Analysts however say that Dorsey’s change of plan has nothing to do with the Corvid-19 but that the CEO is facing a restive board and likely shareholder revolt. Shrtly after his return from his African trip late last year, Prof. Scott Galloway wrote to demand for Dorsey’s replacement over his announcement of a move to Africa. He also faulted Dorsey’s leadership of two companies. Aside his being head at Twitter, Dorsey is also the CEO of financial services company, Square.
Galloway’s letter while citing concerns over Twitter’s performance, what was left unsaid was the widely held belief that Dorsey was moving to Africa for his other company, Square. His tweet in November expressing a belief in a future for cryptocurrency in Africa may have fueled this belief. In the end, Galloway’s letter did not change the state of affairs at Twitter, but a more influential investor is looking to do that.
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Just last week, a New York based Elliott Management Corp bought 4% shares of Twitter and has now nominated four directors to Twitter’s board as it reportedly makes plans to remove Dorsey as CEO. While Galloway’s open letter might have made some headlines, it is Elliott Management which will be able to force Dorsey out from the company he co-founded. Observers say that Elliot will most likely call for a change in Twitter as they are known to have done elsewhere, especially with Pernod Ricard. Thus it is no surprise that this sequence of events coincide with Dorsey’s announcement. Even with his preference for remote work, trying to retain his control of Twitter will need him to be on the ground.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry