Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal To Walk Out With $42 Mn After Elon Musk’s Takeover

Elon Musk has completed the acquisition of micro-blogging social media giant Twitter in a $44 Bn deal. Following this, Musk replaced Parag Agrawal as the CEO of the company, reportedly paying a compensation of $42 Mn.

According to research firm Equilar, the $42 Mn will include a year’s worth of Parag’s base salary plus accelerated vesting of all equity awards. The compensation would have only been possible if Agrawal left the company within 12 months of joining the new post.

Agrawal was appointed Twitter CEO in November 2021.

In 2021, when Agrawal was the chief technology officer, his total compensation was $30.4 Mn. As the CEO, Agrawal’s salary was reported to be $1 Mn annually, alongside a stock compensation of $12.5 Mn.

Agrawal holds a 2.3% stake in Twitter and has been a part of the company for more than a decade. 

Agrawal is a Stanford University doctorate candidate and an IIT Bombay alum. His previous stints as an intern include Microsoft, Yahoo and AT&T Labs. He joined Twitter by working on ad-related products and later moved on to working with AI for Twitter timelines.

Agrawal’s Liz Truss Moment At Twitter Inc 

One of the highest-paid executives within big tech, Agrawal rose to the power of Twitter’s head following founder Jack Dorsey’s exit. 

Six months following Dorsey’s departure from the company, Musk set out to acquire Twitter and has reportedly not been a fan of Agrawal’s leadership. 

On several occasions, Musk, a major shareholder in Twitter Inc., had been vocal about the leadership at the company and Twitter’s free speech ‘scrutiny’. 

A bitter legal battle ensued only within a fortnight of Musk offering to buy the company and backpedalling over concerns about bot accounts. The deal was shelved for several months, still, Agrawal’s reign was shortlived.

The lawsuit ended in mid-October 2022, when Musk bought out the company for the original deal amount of $44 Bn, firing several top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and legal head Vijaya Gadde from the company.

Musk will head the company, or so his Twitter bio reads.

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