Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

These are the men running Elon Musk’s Twitter

The billionaire has installed several well experienced, well professionally diverted, and loyal members of his inner circle to enact his vision for the social media platform. I personally do not agree with all their suggestions, but it doesn’t mean that they are wrong or mine are better. Time will tell.

Late last month, Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter and immediately fired four of the company’s most senior executives.

In their place, he’s installed a small council of lieutenants to assess the company and begin implementing his vision. The group includes Musk’s personal lawyer, his chief of staff, a couple investor friends and a former Twitter executive who left the company years ago.

The new regime has already started mass layoffs, discussed the company’s content moderation plans and sent out orders to employees to begin working on a paid verification feature. They also met with advertisers who provide Twitter with most of its revenue and have shown concern over how Musk might run the company.

They’re tasked with keeping the company going and ramping up its revenue.

Here’s a run-down of who they are.


Jason Calacanis

A tech investor, podcast host and longtime Musk associate, Calacanis’ texts with Musk were among those that appeared in court documents released as part of Twitter’s lawsuit to force Musk to buy the company. Calacanis pitched Musk ideas on how to change Twitter before the acquisition. And now that Musk is formally the owner, Calacanis has been on Twitter soliciting feedback from users on what kind of features they want to see.

In his private texts to Musk, Calacanis suggested that Twitter require employees return to the office for at least two days a week, which he said would reduce the workforce by 20 percent, through “voluntary departures.” He also criticized Twitter’s premium features and proposed expanding verified badges to more users, the messages show.

In private texts, he told Musk that becoming the new chief executive of Twitter is his “dream job.” He’s not CEO, but Musk has kept Calacanis around as part of the transition and his title is listed internally as a software engineer.

On Monday, Calacanis tweeted that he was in New York to meet with advertisers on behalf of Twitter.


Jared Birchall

Birchall is one of Musk’s closest advisers and manages the billionaire’s personal fortune as head of his family office since 2016. He’s a former Morgan Stanley wealth manager and helped set up the financing for Musk’s Twitter buyout.

Birchall also serves as chief executive of Neuralink, Musk’s brain interface tech start-up and as a director of his tunneling company, Boring Co., though it’s unclear if he actually wields power there or is simply in charge on paper. Birchall is Musk’s fixer, helping arrange the purchase and sale of his houses and the hiring of security guards.

Over the last few days, Birchall has been one of the people strategizing inside Twitter.


Alex Spiro

A lawyer at New York law firm Quinn Emanuel, Spiro has become a bigger and bigger figure in Musk’s orbit over the past few years. He helped Musk win a defamation lawsuit for his comments insulting a cave diver he got into a Twitter fight with over the rescue of a Thai boys soccer team several years ago.

Spiro has also represented a roster of famous athletes and musicians, including Aaron Hernandez in his 2016 murder trial and Jay-Z in a business dispute over a perfume endorsement deal.

The lawyer is now managing the legal, government relations, policy and marketing teams at Twitter. He was also involved in the layoff plan that went into effect in recent days.


David Sacks

Sacks has worked with Musk since the two were part of PayPal’s team in the early 2000s. They both made fortunes when the company sold, and Sacks has invested in a string of successful start-ups since then, including Airbnb, Facebook and Uber. He’s also become a conservative media figure and a major Republican donor who helped fund the successful recall of San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin earlier this year.

In September, he wrote an article advocating for a referendum in Russia-occupied eastern Ukraine asking residents if they wanted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, an idea Musk later tweeted himself.

Sacks recently appeared in a Twitter company directory with an official Twitter email and the title “staff software engineer”.


Sriram Krishnan

Krishnan helps lead cryptocurrency investments at Silicon Valley venture capital heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz, which invested $400 million in Musk’s Twitter acquisition.

He’s also worked in product development positions at Facebook, Snapchat and, from 2017 till 2019 at Twitter.

On Monday he said he was helping Musk out at Twitter “temporarily.” Krishnan is the only one in Musk’s team that has actually worked at Twitter before.

Other advisors are tech experts outside USA, and helping Elon Musk with ideas, coding, and research.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Record-Low Danube Exposes Probable Mammoth Remains in Bulgaria
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
The AI User Nightmare: Private Claude Conversations Leaked to the Internet
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Massive Wildfires Ravage Southern Europe: Fatalities in Greece and Evacuations Across France, Spain, and Turkey
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Apple Briefly Crosses Five Trillion Dollar Valuation as Investors Retreat From AI Bets
Fresh Heatwave Threatens to Rekindle France’s Historic Wildfire Crisis
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Czech Central Bank Governor Rejects Early Euro Entry and Rate-Cut Pressure
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
Vivienne Westwood Casts Cicciolina, 74, in Its New Autumn Campaign
Dejavu: Germany’s Military Expansion Reshapes Europe’s Strategic Balance With France
Morgan Stanley Builds a Wall Street Lead in AI Infrastructure Finance
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Brilliant move: Péter Magyar Moves to Nominate Chess Grandmaster Judit Polgár as Hungary’s President
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Current AI Seeks to Build an Open Global AI Infrastructure Outside Big Tech Control
Germany’s Economic Malaise Reopens the Sunday Shopping Debate
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Netherlands Declares Water Shortage Emergency After Drought Pushes Rivers to Historic Lows
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Trump Administration Pressures Banks to Restrict Financial Access for Undocumented Immigrants
Passenger Bound for Germany Refused to Sit Beside a Woman on a Plane — Then Slapped a Flight Attendant
Ukraine’s Leadership Rift Spills Into the Streets as Protesters Target Army Chief
Ukrainian Drone Barrage Kills Eight and Strikes Russian Logistics Network
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
The Monaco Bombing Has Become a Test of Ukraine’s Intelligence Accountability
Leadership Change and Strategic Rivalry Redraw the Political Map
The AI Race Enters Its Infrastructure Era
Britain Nationalises British Steel to Protect Scunthorpe Production and Strategic Supply
French National Assembly Overrides Senate to Pass Historic Assisted-Dying Legislation
Spanish Prime Minister's Wife Ordered to Stand Trial as Corruption Probes Encircle Governing Party
Zelensky Faces Kyiv Protests Over Ousting of Dynamic Ukrainian Defense Minister
Thomas Tuchel Faces Fierce Backlash After Tactical Retreat Costs England World Cup Final Berth
A Quiet Bastille Day: France Grapples with World Cup Heartbreak and Leftover Fireworks
Spain in Ecstasy: "We Feel Unbeatable, We Taught the Whole World a Lesson"
Spain and UK Dismantle Gibraltar Border Following Landmark Schengen Integration Treaty
Hungary's "Puppet" President to Be Ousted, Orbán Fumes: "Democracy Is Dead"
Forget Tinder: The Surprising Platform Where People Find Love
×