Who may very well be the CEO of Twitter if Elon Musk steps down

The next is a free preview from final week’s Command Line, my new weekly publication concerning the tech business’s inside dialog:

Elon Musk has stated he’ll discover a new CEO for Twitter after customers voted for him to leave. However who would, in his own words, be “silly sufficient to take the job”?

It’s a query I’ve been posing in conversations over the previous week. Primarily based on my checks with individuals who would know, Musk doesn’t look like working a proper search but. And given his propensity to lie return on his phrase, he may not attempt to discover somebody. The matter is difficult by his saying that, even after discovering a CEO, he’ll nonetheless run the “software program & servers groups.” That’s principally the entire firm.

For what it’s price, I do suppose Musk will finally discover a CEO, not solely as a result of he advised his Twitter buyers he would however as a result of it’s the rational factor for him to do. Beneath are the names which were floated to me pretty much as good candidates ought to Musk really hand over the reins of Twitter. (I’m not together with the apparent members of Musk’s transition crew that helped him within the early days of the takeover — particularly David Sacks, Jason Calacanis, and Sriram Krishnan — since my learn is that they aren’t ready to take the job if requested.)

Sheryl Sandberg, ex-Meta COO

Execs: This decide is maybe the obvious alternative, particularly if Musk does what he says and continues to guide engineering at Twitter after naming a brand new CEO. Sandberg has the rep with advertisers and connections that Musk wants to start repairing Twitter’s spiraling enterprise. And she or he’s a free agent after leaving Meta final yr.

Cons: Musk isn’t any fan of Fb, and I don’t suppose they’d get alongside. Sandberg additionally appears comfortable specializing in her philanthropy and household life lately.

Emmett Shear, co-founder and CEO of Twitch

Execs: Whereas Shear wasn’t on my shortlist of potential names till I began asking round, I’m coming round to the concept. Because the co-founder and present head of Twitch, he has efficiently offered a social media firm to a tech big and has the expertise Musk wants for his plan to show Twitter into extra of a video platform for creators. Plus, I’ve been listening to that the Twitch org is in disarray as of late.

Cons: He hasn’t led a public firm, and Musk plans to deliver Twitter again out to the general public markets in a number of years. And Twitch has been unable to efficiently develop outdoors of its principal area of interest of gamer livestreams.

Vanessa Pappas, TikTok COO

Execs: She has the expertise Musk wants, having first helped get up YouTube’s early creator program and extra not too long ago because the COO of TikTok. I’ve additionally heard whispers that she could also be planning an exit from TikTok / ByteDance someday this yr.

Con: If Musk is principally searching for somebody that the large advertisers know to guide Twitter, she wouldn’t be the best choice since her focus has primarily been on product and creators.

Jim Lanzone, CEO of Yahoo

Execs: Lanzone’s background is extra in media and promoting, except for his temporary stint as CEO of Tinder. He’s now main Yahoo however might leap for the appropriate alternative. He has the connections with the promoting group and operations expertise that Musk may use and the structure to take care of Musk’s antics.

Con: Unclear if he would wish to work for Musk and tackle the headache that’s Twitter proper now.

Kevin Systrom, Instagram co-founder

Execs: By way of pedigree and product chops, the Instagram co-founder and former CEO is certainly a prime decide. He has been quiet since he left Instagram / Fb in 2018 after clashing with Mark Zuckerberg, although he confirmed his curiosity within the TikTok mannequin of social media — disentangling in-feed suggestions from somebody’s social graph — on Lex Fridman’s podcast final yr. That’s precisely what Musk desires Twitter to deal with, too.

Cons: He has already labored for an opinionated founder / CEO, made some huge cash, and sure doesn’t wish to do all of it once more. Additionally doesn’t have the diploma of clout with the promoting group that Musk might be searching for.

Honorable mentions floated to me: Adam Bain, Susan Wojcicki, Sarah Friar, Kayvon Beykpour, and Kevin Weil. Am I lacking anybody else? Let me know…