It’s Time For Twitter To Make A Deal… And Fast

It’s time for Twitter Inc. (TWTR) to stick or twist.

Last Sunday, the embattled social media company suffered a mass exodus of executive talent.

If you believe the official statement, Alex Roetter, Kevin Weil, Skip Schipper, and Katie Stanton all “voluntarily” departed.

Hmm… consider me suspicious.

The timing couldn’t be more ominous. Why?

Because Twitter is in dire need of a turnaround. User growth slumped to 8% in the third quarter of 2015, down from 22% a year earlier.

Take a look at this for an ugly trend…

The only logical reason for four executives to bail at the same time is if even worse user growth – possibly even negative growth – is coming when Twitter reports its fourth-quarter results on February 10.

As Pando’s Sarah Lacy writes, “If two executives leave at the same time then, yes, it might be a coincidence. But four senior executives all jumping ship at the same time spells nothing but trouble.”

Yep!

So what is recycled, part-time CEO Jack Dorsey going to do about it?

If he’s smart, he’ll start soliciting takeover offers – stat! Here’s why…

Twitter’s Revolving Boardroom Door

Some bulls have tried to suggest that a good, old-fashioned management shakeup could be precisely what’s needed to spur positive change at Twitter.

Ignore them. They clearly haven’t been paying attention.

I can’t think of another company that’s endured more management turnover to date. Consider:

Twitter’s had six heads of product in six years, three CFOs in four years, and three heads of engineering in three years.

Since its November 2014 analyst day, the door to the company’s corporate suite has spun almost non-stop, with eight out of 13 executives departing. That’s 62% turnover.

Twitter Execs Running for the Exit: From 13 down to five... Twitter's boardroom is emptying