Michael Sippey, Twitter's vice president of product, announced Friday that he will be moving into a temporary advisory role before ultimately leaving the company.
Sippey, who joined the company two years ago from SAY Media, said he made the decision after consulting with Twitter CEO Dick Costolo and COO Ali Rowghani.
See also: Twitter: What to Expect in 2014
"I’ve spent most of my career working at startups, helping them scale and having a direct hand on the product," Sippey wrote in an email to Twitter employees, which he later posted on his personal blog. "Over the past few weeks I’ve talked with Dick and Ali about what I want next in my career, and what Twitter needs at this stage of its life. And I’ve decided that it’s time for me to move on."
Mike Isaac at Re/code, who was first to break the news of Sippey's departure, reports hearing from sources that Sippey's exit may have been the result of dissatisfaction with Rowghani, who effectively became his new boss at the end of last year. Isaac also points to ongoing frustrations on the product team with Twitter's slow pace of approving feature changes.
News of Sippey's departure comes just days after Twitter redesigned its web homepage and a couple months after it introduced significant updates to its mobile apps.
The full email from Sippey is below:
Team,
2013 was a fantastic year for Twitter. You all should be very proud of the great work we did.
As we head into 2014, I’ve had a chance to reflect on what’s important to me and what I love to do. I’ve spent most of my career working at startups, helping them scale and having a direct hand on the product. Over the past few weeks I’ve talked with Dick and Ali about what I want next in my career, and what Twitter needs at this stage of its life. And I’ve decided that it’s time for me to move on.
Starting today I’m transitioning to an advisory role. I’ll be helping with product strategy, providing input on the great work the team has lined up for 2014, and helping Ali find a new head of product. After that, I’m excited to go figure out what’s next. I hear this Internet thing has legs.
I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to work with an amazing team on one of the most important products on the planet. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Onward!
m