In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last Nov. 7, Twitter disclosed that Adam Bain, its Chief Operating Officer, is leaving the company.
Bain's Twitter Departure
The SEC filing did not provide specific reason for the departure and the accompanying press release merely stated that Bain will be exploring opportunities elsewhere. Twitter also announced that he will be replaced by Anthony Noto, who is the company's current Chief Financial Officer.
Bain's departure has made quite a stir in the tech and business worlds because his position is charged with Twitter's revenue-generating organizations. He is also well-liked in the company and has been responsible for building Twitter's multi-billion advertising business.
A source inside the company said that Bain has no new job lined up but he promised that he will not work for competitors like Facebook, according to Recode. After a few more weeks at Twitter to assist the transition of responsibilities, he is reportedly going to take time off.
Bain himself explained his resignation in great detail via Twitter posts. After praising Twitter and citing how he believes in it as a product, he also outlined what he has done and his legacy for the company.
"We took the company from $0 to Billions faster than almost anyone's ever done it," Bain posted. "We diversified the business, took it global."
According to him, he will be trying a new venture, which he is excited to reveal in the near future.
Twitter's Revenue Struggle
It is important to note that Twitter has been struggling to monetize the huge microblogging platform recently. In its Q3 report, it stated that its total revenue hit $616 million and that figure could have been weighed down by the huge spending devoted to product development and marketing. The report also included Twitter's plan to let go of 350 employees.
A potential acquisition deal also fizzled out after Salesforce, its largest potential buyer, withdrew from the negotiating table. Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, cited that Twitter is not the right fit for his company. Other rumored buyers such as Microsoft, Disney and Alphabet have also lost interest. Twitter's value in the market took a beating since.
Nevertheless, based on its latest earnings report Twitter still managed to outperform expectations. It has also added 4 million users to the 313 million posted in the second quarter of 2016.
The spotlight is now focused on Noto. While Twitter said that he will only take the reins temporarily, he could be staying as the COO for the long haul as the company is purportedly making the hunt for a new CFO a top priority.
