New Twitter CEO: Mission Impossible or Opportunity of a Lifetime?

Plus there was the matter of Donald Trump, whose tweets gave new meaning to the expression “stretching the truth.” (Trump was kicked off the platform in 2021; Musk invited him back recently, but thus far the ex-president has demurred.)

Will Musk give a new Twitter CEO the chance to succeed?

Given all of this, does taking up the position as Twitter CEO in 2023 represent a mission impossible – or the opportunity of a lifetime?

There is an expression for an such an impossible assignment – “It’s like giving a kamikaze pilot a two-ship quota.” But it could also present a unique career opportunity. Think of Lou Gerstner, who became CEO of the faltering tech giant IBM and turned things around. Of such things are legends made.

Gerstner’s case is instructive – a former McKinsey partner, he had previous headed up RJR Nabisco and American Express, neither of which operated in the tech space other than as consumers of enabling platforms. This suggests that Twitter’s next CEO need not come from Silicon Valley.

The financial press, perhaps predictably, has largely focused on high-profile candidates, including former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and that company’s former CIO, Mike Schroepfer.

Both have the advantage of having navigated in and around a sometimes-challenging Mark Zuckerberg. Sandberg, in particular, is aware of the challenges around free speech, privacy, and monetization.

CNBC and Forbes have also mentioned the folks who have been helping Musk run Twitter since the takeover, including Jason Calacanis, entrepreneur and investor, and David Sacks, another investor, one with Pay Pal experience.

As someone who has spent several decades as an executive search professional, I would advise looking less at prominent names, and more at the problems that need to be solved. Once those are identified, we can take the next step and do a deep, exhaustive search to find the right candidate.

So what needs to be addressed by an incoming CEO?

First of all, stabilize the patient. Twitter’s workforce has been traumatized over the past four months, with many employees either being shown the door or heading for the exits. Much as happened at IBM with Gerstner, the new leader needs to steady the ship, even while signaling that change is in the offing.

Twitter management also needs to deal decisively with blatant hate speech, including incitements to violence, and the amplification of racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic messaging. While Elon Musk is on record as favoring free speech, creating clear boundaries is paramount to maintaining the integrity of the brand. Closely aligned are issues around security and privacy.