The second meeting between Twitter and Elliott, which was also in a neutral place—this time there were refreshments—began cordially enough. Dorsey was pleasant and thoughtful, and joked a little, as did Cohn. According to two people familiar with the discussions, Dorsey blamed the stagnation at Twitter again on his predecessor, Costolo. Yet, as one person in the meeting pointed out, Costolo left Twitter almost half a decade before, and the stock price was lower on that March day than it was when Costolo stepped down, although the markets had risen by double-digit percentages. (It’s also worth noting that Dorsey has been on the board of Twitter since the company was founded.) Dorsey, according to one person familiar, had hoped he would be able to use his founder magic to charm the bankers, but it didn’t seem to be working out that way. At times the meeting grew tense, and the charisma Dorsey usually relies on in tense situations did not seem to sway the Elliott team. Whenever Dorsey and his compatriots are asked why he insists on running two companies, their go-to answer is that he is the cofounder, an argument that came up in this meeting as well, according to the person familiar. A year or two ago, that argument possibly would have sufficed. But now, in the face of a string of massively failed multibillion-dollar companies, all led by founders, it’s as if Wall Street has finally figured out that the magic trick doesn’t always end with a rabbit being pulled out of a hat.
In this particular meeting, it appeared that the numbers, most of which were underwhelming at best, overshadowed any conjuring founder tricks the Twitter team hoped Dorsey could pull off. Though there was a saving grace for Dorsey.
On the sidelines of these talks, Egon Durban of Silver Lake, another investment firm, which had been eyeing Twitter, swooped in and wanted to join the party. And after lengthy negotiations, Twitter and Elliott came to an agreement that in the media looked like a truce. The deal includes Silver Lake injecting $1 billion into Twitter, which will help the company fund a $2 billion share repurchase program. Cohn will get one board seat, and Silver Lake’s co-CEO, Egon Durban, will get another. The third board seat will go to someone independent who reflects Twitter’s “diversity” and—unlike most of the current eight board members—someone with technology expertise focusing on artificial intelligence. With two prospective investors, Dorsey did not march to the beat of a single drummer. He can remain CEO of both Twitter and Square—a narrow escape, for now.
For many in Silicon Valley and within the walls of Twitter, the announcement came as another win for Dorsey, where people believed that Elliott had lost its battle to oust the next Steve Jobs.
Or was it?
Twitter is no longer just a technology company. It is used by world leaders to wage war and local governments to warn of shutdowns. It’s used by politicians to announce they are running for office, to declare they are suspending their campaigns, and to endorse other candidates. It’s where news breaks and journalists find sources. Where Trump pulls the levers of chaos and controls what will consume the nightly news or the morning headlines. During the spread of the coronavirus, it has been an invaluable place to share minute-by-minute mortality and epidemiology statistics from around the globe. Over time, Twitter has become less of a social network and more of a public utility. And yet Dorsey insists it does not need a full-time CEO.
While Twitter has continued to become an invaluable tool around the globe, it has, without much competition, become the most tumultuous and absurd company in the history of technology. With Dorsey as a constant board member, the company has gone through more than half a dozen product directors; its CEO position has been a revolving door of chaos in two- to five-year increments; its board has been no different, with people joining, forcing others out, and then being shoved off themselves. Other aspects of the company are more akin to a soap opera on Telemundo than any normal kind of corporate drama. For example, when Dorsey returned to the company after being ousted in 2008, his number one cheerleader and confidant was Peter Fenton, an early investor and board member who praised Dorsey as the greatest founder of his generation. But after Dorsey took over again as chief in 2015, some people who know Fenton say that the relationship soured, although one source close to Fenton disputes this and says the two are amicable. Either way, Fenton left his wife and kids, and started dating Dorsey’s on-and-off girlfriend of many years, Kate Greer. And, in 2017, Fenton left Twitter entirely. (Fenton and Greer now have a baby together.)