Twitter Inc. named Omid Kordestani, a former adviser to Google Inc., as executive chairman, taking the post Jack Dorsey vacated when he was named chief executive officer last week, Bloomberg reported.
Kordestani, a former chief business officer at the search giant, will have an operational role at Twitter, helping with recruiting and strategy, a spokesman for the San Francisco-based social media company said on Wednesday. Kordestani tweeted that he is excited to work directly with executives to “grow @twitter’s impact and business.”
The appointment was just the latest significant move since Dorsey officially became CEO Oct. 5. Twitter said Tuesday it would cut more than 300 jobs, or about 8% of its workforce. Last week, the social-media company introduced Moments, a long-awaited product intended to make Twitter easier for casual users to understand. Dorsey and Twitter’s board aim to make the company more focused and faster-moving, enticing new users to join after two years of slowing growth.
“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,” Dorsey said on Twitter.
Twitter shares rose 1.7% to $29.56 at 9:35 in New York. The stock was down 19 this year through Tuesday.
