On the evening of May 6, Beijing time, it is reported that after completing the $44 billion acquisition of twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is expected to temporarily serve as twitter CEO for several months. After that, he may have to appoint a permanent CEO for twitter, or at least introduce a deputy to help manage day-to-day operations. Who would this person be?
It is more likely that musk will look for people with expertise in media, social media or artificial intelligence from his core executive circle or investors of many of his companies (Tesla, SpaceX, neuralin, etc.). These include Ken howery, co-founder of PayPal (musk was the CEO of PayPal), David sacks, former CEO of zenefits, and shivon zilis, senior executive of neuralink.
Here is the list of candidates that may appear in Musk's mind:
- Ken howery, co-founder of PayPal
Advantages: close relationship with musk and professional knowledge in payment field.
Disadvantages: no previous CEO experience.
- Sam teller, partner of Valor equity partners
Advantages: trustworthy, with working experience in many companies led by musk.
Disadvantages: no previous CEO experience and no experience in social media business.
- Luke nosek, managing partner of gigafund
Advantages: Musk's good friend, with marketing and strategy experience.
Disadvantages: lack of advertising experience.
- David sacks, co-founder of craft Ventures
Advantages: I have CEO experience and have a common view with Musk on what content should be allowed on twitter.
Cons: Sachs says he's a VC, not a candidate.
- Jesse Angelo, President of news and entertainment of vice media
Advantages: if musk prefers twitter subscription mode and adds news products to his products, Angelo's experience in advertising will be a plus. In addition, his media expertise may be important. In May 2021, twitter acquired scroll, a product that makes it easier to read long news online.
Disadvantages: in Musk's plan for twitter, advertising and news may not be the core.
- Shivon zilis, director of operations and special projects of neuralink
Advantages: experience in investing and consulting artificial intelligence (AI) companies.
Disadvantages: no previous CEO experience.
- Adam Bain, co-founder and managing partner of Advisors
Advantages: familiar with the internal operation of twitter, he is an experienced salesperson and the founder of advertiser relationship.
Cons: musk may not want to appoint any former twitter executive.