Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has announced he will be stepping down.
Until now, Mr Dorsey was the chief executive of Twitter, which he co-founded in 2006, he is also CEO of his payment business Square.
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Mr Dorsey previously left Twitter in 2008, before rejoining in 2011 and then becoming chief executive for the second time in 2015.
He has since come under pressure from Paul Singer, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Elliott, to step down again as the company's chief executive.
Last year Elliott and Mr Singer said that Mr Dorsey should not be chief executive of both Square and Twitter, before reaching a deal with the technology firm.
Outlining his reasons for leaving the company, Dorsey shared a company-wide email he sent out which explains everything to members of staff.
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In the email, he wrote: "After almost 16 years of having a role at our company... from co-founder to CEO to Chair to Exec Chair to interim-CEO to CEO... I decided it's finally time for me to leave. Why?
"There's a lot of talk about the important of a company being 'founder-led'. Ultimately I believe that's severely limiting and a single point of failure. I've worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders. There are three reasons I believe now is the right time."
He then went on to explain the reasons, adding: "The first is Parag [Agrawal] becoming our CEO. The board ran a rigorous process considering all options and unanimously appointed Parag. He's been my choice for some time given how deeply he understands the company and its needs.
"Parag had been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around. He's curious, probing, rational, creative, demanding, self-aware, and humble. He leads with heart and soul, and is someone I learn from daily. My trust in him as our CEO is bone deep."
He went on: "The second is Bret Taylor agreeing to become out board chair. I asked Bret to join our board when I became CEO, and he's been excellent in every way. He understands entrepreneurship, taking risks, company at massive scale, technology, product, and he's an engineer.
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"All of the things the board and the company deserve right now. Having Bret in this leadership role gives me a lot of confidence in the strength of our board going forward. You have no idea how happy this makes me!
"The third is all of you. We have a lot of ambition and potential on this team. Consider this: Parag started here as an engineer who cared deeply about our work and now he's out CEO (I also had a similar path... he did it better!). This alone makes me proud. I know that Parag will be able to channel this energy best because he's lived it and knows what it takes."
Dorsey also said that he would be serving on the board through his term which will end in 'May-ish' time, after that he will leave.
He told staff he's 'really sad... yet really happy' and added that it 'was my decision and I own it'.
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He concluded by thanking the employees for the 'trust' placed in him and for the 'openness to build that trust in Parag and yourselves' before adding: "PS I'm tweeting this email. My one wish is for Twitter Inc to be the most transparent company in the world. Hi mom!"
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