Twitter’s CEO is Moving to This Country for Six Months and Analysts are Worried

Jack Dorsey, the chief executive of both social media site Twitter and merchant service company Square, is heading to Africa.

The CEO of both companies announced that he plans to move to the continent for up to six months in 2020.
This has caused some worries over who will run the companies while he is gone. Some Square analysts are wondering who will “mind the store” while Dorsey is abroad.

According to Yale’s Jeff Sonnenfeld, a six-month leave would be “reckless” on the CEO’s part and allowing it would be “irresponsible and negligent” on the part of the board.

Dorsey has been on the continent for the past month and according to reports has been meeting with crypto entrepreneurs in Nigeria. The CEO did not disclose which country he plans to live in.

Lisa Ellis, partner and senior equity analyst at MoffettNathanson, told CNBC, “I can see products like Square’s merchant working capital, and the ability to purchase bitcoin and do fractional investing, having significant applicability in Africa. Someone still has to ‘mind the store’ at home, though.”

The region represents the “future of payments,” according to Macquarie senior payments analyst Dan Dolev.

“This could provide them with a strong perspective on Africa, and a first-mover advantage in a market that will likely be very dominant in payments over the next decades,” Dolev added. “I don’t see any issues, only opportunities.”

Michael Pachter, equity research analyst at Wedbush said, “He should either be a CEO or should be a world traveler — but don’t think the two mesh together well.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.