As confirmed in an official statement, Twitter’s CFO, Mike Gupta, is poised to transition into the strategic investments SVP role. Unexpectedly, his replacement is Anthony Noto, the former Goldman Sachs banker who played a key role in Twitter’s public listing.
Hard to believe?
Indeed, this is yet another development in the series of dramatic events that Twitter has been experiencing. Earlier, I had reached out to Twitter PR regarding speculation about Gupta stepping down – a rumor they denied.
As it now appears, those rumors were accurate! This has been known as “pulling a Vic Gundotra” in Silicon Valley, an expression alluding to a Google+ executive who abruptly left Google, leaving the journalists who had queried about his departure earlier in confusion.
Publicly presented as a mutual decision, this change is, in fact, a part of significant internal reorganization at Twitter’s executive level. The company’s COO, Ali Rowghani, and the head of North American media, Chloe Sladden, have recently left their positions due to strained circumstances.
Even though Gupta’s role is evolving rather than being terminated, it was suggested earlier that he was under pressure from the lackluster response his investor relations efforts received on Wall Street. Now, these responsibilities have been transferred to Noto, who recently left Goldman Sachs to join Coatue Management, a private equity firm.
From a previous article about Gupta:
With his strong track record as a finance executive at Yahoo, Zynga, and joining Twitter near the end of 2012, Gupta is in a prime position to reassure Wall Street investors about Twitter’s potential and to shift the narrative away from stagnant growth. He has the unique task of narrating Twitter’s current events and presenting financial data that doesn’t raise brows among analysts and the media.
Noto, with his experience as the NFL’s CFO and a long career as a Wall Street analyst, is well-equipped to achieve these goals. He has been associated with Goldman since 1999, most recently as the global co-head of its influential Technology, Media and Telecom Group (TMT).
Noto’s appointment, given his close relationship with Twitter’s CEO Dick Costolo and the board, is undoubtedly aimed at mollifying irked investors who have been criticizing the stock for various legitimate reasons. These concerns mainly revolve around issues with growth and skepticism about product innovation.
Since its initial public offering in November of the previous year, Twitter’s stocks have decreased by 33%. However, after the announcement of Noto being appointed, the stocks have already risen nearly 5%. It’s not complete success just yet, but it’s a promising start indeed.
Twitter’s last 8-K regulatory filing revealed that Noto will receive an annual salary of $250,000, a one-time stock award of 1,500,000 shares (vesting over several years), and an additional one-time option grant of 500,000 shares.
Original Source: Recode
This article was updated in 2025 to reflect current trends and insights.