Shares of Twilio Inc. popped more than 6% Monday after co-founder and chief executive Jeff Lawson said he is stepping down.
The surprise move comes as the enterprise-communications software company battles two activist investors pushing for big changes at Twilio. In a regulatory filing announcing the move, Twilio
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said it expects fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and net income to come in above its previous guidance.
“The time has come for me to pass the reins of this extraordinary company to a new CEO to lead Twilio through its next chapter,” Lawson said in a blog post announcing the change.
Longtime Twilio executive Khozema Shipchandler will assume the CEO role, effective Monday. Shipchandler will also take a board seat. Lawson will also step down from Twilio’s board, where he had served as chair. Jeff Epstein, a current board member and partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, will become chair.
“I am honored to step into the CEO role,” Shipchandler said in a release. He suggested the company would take a harder look at “underperforming” businesses, in line with what activists at Anson Funds and Legion Partners have been advocating. They believe Twilio should be sold or fully divest its data and applications business.
“As we’ve previously discussed with Twilio’s Board of Directors, we believe Founder Jeff Lawson’s departure from the company would be a step in the right direction and are pleased with the leadership change announced today,” Anson Funds portfolio manager Sagar Gupta said in a statement.
In December, Twilio announced it would cut 5% of its workforce, with a bulk of them coming from its data and applications business.
