Twitter Inc. said Nov. 29 that CEO Jack Dorsey is stepping down, effective immediately.

Parag Agrawal, who has been with Twitter for more than a decade and has served as chief technology officer since 2017, was named Dorsey's successor as CEO and appointed a member of the board. In the new role, Agrawal will have to contend with assertive growth goals and ad revenue uncertainties centered around Apple Inc. app tracking changes.

Dorsey will remain a member of the board until his term expires at the 2022 meeting of stockholders.

Bret Taylor was named the new chairman, succeeding Patrick Pichette, who will remain a board member.

The news was not wholly unexpected. Shares in the microblogging site were up by about 10% at market open Nov. 29 after CNBC reported that Dorsey would be stepping down in the near future.

Twitter shares closed at $47.02 apiece Nov. 26 during the shortened Thanksgiving holiday week and traded close to $52 as of 9:30 a.m. ET on Nov. 29.

Shares settled to $48.67 as of 9:51 a.m. ET on Nov. 29.

Elliott Management Corp. founder Paul Singer encouraged Dorsey in 2020 to step down from at least one of his roles as heads of both Twitter and digital payments company Square Inc. Elliott is a stakeholder in Twitter.