All the Execs That Have Quit Elon’s Twitter (So Far)

Yoel Roth, head of integrity and safety, was one of the company's most outspoken defenders in the Musk era. He resigned on Thursday, joining countless others.

Jody Serrano

PublishedNovember 12, 2022

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High-level Twitter executives are leaving the company in droves to escape the chaos caused by new owner Elon Musk.

Illustration: mundissima (Shutterstock)

Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk has essentially set the company on fire—and critical employees are running as fast as they can to escape the flames.

The company lost five high-level execs on Thursday, including its chief privacy officer and head of software engineering. Their resignations capped off a day in which Musk told employees that “bankruptcy isn’t out of the question” and oversaw newly-minted accounts with paid checkmarks causing chaos on the platform.

Although all of the Twitter employees that resigned yesterday played a significant role in the company’s operations, perhaps the biggest shock was the departure of Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former head of trust and safety. Since Musk’s takeover, which happened only two weeks ago, Roth has been an outspoken and stabilizing force at Twitter who appeared to be aligned with the Tesla CEO’s vision.

Roth was a reminder that there were still some adults left at the company after his former boss laid off 50% of Twitter’s staff. Now, while there is no doubt that there are still countless hardworking employees who care about Twitter in the building, leadership seems to be made up of just Musk and his minions.

Here’s a breakdown of which high-level execs have left Twitter since Musk begrudgingly came in to run it. We’ll make sure to update the list if more senior employees decide to quit and run away from the Musk-caused fire.

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Chief customer officer Sarah Personette

Sarah Personette is seen in a green dress at a Refinery29 event in 2018. — Twitter’s former chief customer officer Sarah Personette in 2018.

Sarah Personette, Twitter’s former chief customer officer, quit the company on Oct. 28, hours after Musk officially closed his deal to buy the blue bird app after months of trying to get out of it. Personette was Twitter’s main point of contact to advertisers.

In a goodbye message on Twitter posted on Oct. 31, Personette said she believed her most important work at the company was “championing the requirements of brand safety.”

“While uncertain how many there would be, I spent my last few days at the company continuing that commitment. And I want everyone to know I do believe the new administration understands the importance of holding up the standards of [the Global Alliance for Responsible Media],” she tweeted. “To my customers, there was never a time I thought you stopped believing in us. Through the epic moments and the challenges, I can share that it truly felt like a community.”

Notably, Personatte resigned one day after sharing Musk’s open letter to advertisers promising not to turn Twitter into a hellscape. On Oct. 27, she shared that she had talked with Musk and was “looking forward to the future.”

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Chief people and diversity officer Dalana Brand

Twitter’s former chief people and diversity officer Dalana Brand announces her resignation.

Screenshot: Jody Serrano / Gizmodo

Dalana Brand, Twitter’s former chief people and diversity officer, announced that she had resigned from the company effective Oct. 28. According to Ebony, Brand was Twitter’s first Black woman in a C-Suite role since it became a public company in 2013. Brand was at Twitter for four years.

“After 4 amazing years, I resigned from Twitter on Friday. It has truly been one of the best experiences of my career and every moment embodied #LoveWhereYouWork,” Brand tweeted on Nov. 1. “Tweeps are special. From our BRG’s who work to help make our company reflect our service, to our leaders who pour into their teams everyday, and every Tweep globally who remains steadfast in serving the public conversation.”

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Chief marketing officer Leslie Berland

Leslie Berland, Twitter’s former chief marketing officer, left Twitter on Nov. 1. The CMO was the executive charged with giving Musk his first tour of the company after the acquisition deal was finalized.

Berland didn’t make any official announcement about his departure, although multiple outlets have since reported it. On Nov. 1, she simply tweeted out a blue heart, and received a flood of blue hearts in return, presumably from former Twitter coworkers.

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Chief information security officer Lea Kissner

A photo of former Twitter CISO Lea Kissner speaking at a conference in 2018. — Former Twitter CISO Lea Kissner.

Kissner, Twitter’s former chief information security officer, or CISO, resigned from the company on Thursday. Kissner, who uses they/them pronouns, announced their departure on Twitter, but did not specify a reason.

“I’ve made the hard decision to leave Twitter. I’ve had the opportunity to work with amazing people and I’m so proud of the privacy, security, and IT teams and the work we’ve done,” they tweeted.

They were Twitter’s most senior cybersecurity official, and their departure and others have raised eyebrows over at the Federal Trade Commission. The company is under two FTC consent decrees for violating user security and privacy in the past. Violating the decrees risks generating billions in fines from the federal agency.

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Head of trust and safety Yoel Roth

Yoel Roth, former head of trust and safety at Twitter.

Screenshot: Jody Serrano / Gizmodo

Yoel Roth, who has been reassuring users that Twitter was still moderating hateful conduct and misinformation, left the company on Thursday, Reuters reported. Roth was Twitter’s head of trust and safety.

According to Platformer, the tech newsletter helmed by Casey Newton, Roth was a Twitter veteran who had been at the company for seven years. On his LinkedIn profile, Roth explained that he was in charge of Twitter’s policy and threat investigation teams tasked with dealing with security, authenticity, and content issues. Since Musk’s takeover, Roth had been largely seen as the calm voice reassuring users (and advertisers) that it was still taking content moderation seriously.

Roth did not make any public announcement about his departure. However, his Twitter profile describes him as “Former Head of Trust & Safety at Twitter.”

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Chief privacy officer Damien Kieran

The silhouettes of leaves are shown in front of an image of Twitter's headquarters. — Photo: David Odisho (Getty Images)

Damien Kieran, Twitter’s former chief privacy officer, also resigned from the company on Thursday, multiple outlets reported. Kieran was also seen as critical to ensuring Twitter meets its obligations to the FTC.

Kieran updated his Twitter profile to read “ex-Chief Privacy Officer @Twitter.” He also seemed to tweet in solidarity with his departed colleagues.

“Time honored tradition. #oneteam,” Kieran wrote on Thursday afternoon.

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Chief compliance officer Marianne Fogarty

Screenshot: Jody Serrano / Gizmodo

Marianne Fogarty, Twitter’s former chief compliance officer, also left the company on Thursday, according to multiple news outlets. She did not make a public announcement about her departure or provide her reason for leaving, though she did post a cryptic tweet.

“Therapy Thursdays have taken on new meaning of late. #LoveTwitter,” Fogarty wrote on Thursday.

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