A Twitter Captain Leaves the Titanic

November 10, 2016 by Douglas A. McIntyre

Twitter Inc.’s (NYSE: TWTR) Chief Operating Officer Adam Bain was thrown under the bus by flailing CEO Jack Dorsey. Many investors have suggested that it is Dorsey who should leave. He and the board decided to buy some time via the Bain decision.

The new management structure at Twitter is odd. The chief financial officer will take many of Bain’s responsibilities, although they are ones rarely overseen by a financial executive:

Anthony Noto who has served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer since July, 2014, has been named COO. As COO he will continue to manage the live content business, and assume responsibility for Twitter’s revenue generating organizations including global advertising sales, data, revenue product, and MoPub, as well as global partnerships and business development, effective immediately. Bain will assist with the transition of the COO role over the coming weeks.

The current leadership team responsible for these respective areas will now report to Noto, including Matt Derella, Twitter’s Vice President of Global Revenue and Operations. Additionally, Twitter is initiating a search to identify a CFO replacement for Noto. Noto in addition to being the COO will continue as the CFO until a new CFO is appointed.

If Dorsey can be CEO of two public companies, Twitter and Square, why can’t Noto have two jobs as well? Like Dorsey, he has the chance to do neither well.

Twitter’s shares are down 28% in the past year to $19.13, as well as down 52% in the past two years. Its user growth is nearly frozen, and its ad model broken. A new management structure won’t change any of that.

Sponsored: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor

Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.