Twitter appoints Google veteran Omid Kordestani as chairman

Twitter has appointed Google veteran Omid Kordestani its executive chairman in an effort to turn the company around.

The announcement came a day after the social networking site laid off eight percent of its workforce or 336 out of its 4,100 employees across the globe. This move intends to slash costs as the company struggles to make money.

Last week, Jack Dorsey gave up the chairman’s role to become Twitter’s permanent chief executive officer. He confirmed the layoff via Twitter and mentioned the “tough but necessary decision” would enable the company to move forward with greater focus and reinvest in growth.

“Omid is a proven & experienced leader who will directly help and coach me and our leadership, and help us recruit the best folks to Twitter,” Dorsey Twitted on Wednesday.

“A great chairperson is the first step towards continuing to make our Board one of the best in the world, and purpose-built to serve Twitter,” added Dorsey.

On the other hand, Kordestani also confirmed his appointment via a Tweet. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Kordestani, 51, will be responsible for providing leadership and support for the executive team and for recruitment.

Industry analysts believe the combination of Kordestani's extensive sales experience and Dorsey's product knowledge and vision could be beneficial for the company.

Before joining Twitter, Kordestani served as the chief business officer at Google. From last summer, he was advisor to Alphabet but his position was eliminated because of Google’s restructuring.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Kordestani served Google since 1999. He’s credited for being one of the reasons behind the higher revenues of the search giant.

Kordestani helped build Google's sales and business teams that proved to be pivotal in its growth. He departed Google in 2009 and came back as chief business officer in 2014. According to Reuters, Google was once eager to buy Twitter but has struck a deal with the social networking site to include tweets in its search results.

“It’s rare you get to be at a company with an amazing business that’s also transforming the world. I’ve had good fortune to be at three: Netscape, @google, and now @twitter”, Kordestani tweeted.

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