Former Twitter Executive Joins Meta’s Messenger Team: A Shift in Tech Leadership

A former top lieutenant at Twitter recently announced a significant career move, transitioning to Meta‘s Messenger team. Laura Crawford, the former director of product management at Twitter, shared the news in a post on Monday.

After her departure in February 2023, Crawford is now taking on the role of Director of Product at Meta’s Messenger team. She expressed her excitement about joining Meta, highlighting the company’s massive reach that connects nearly 4 billion people worldwide.

In her announcement, Crawford praised the exceptional quality of talent at Meta and expressed admiration for Mark Zuckerberg’s vision and management style, particularly noting the company’s efficiency and dynamism under his leadership.

Crawford’s move to Meta comes just a year after her exit from Twitter and her departure from the company she co-founded, Squad. During her tenure at Twitter, Crawford was notably chosen by Elon Musk to lead the subscription service Twitter Blue, garnering attention for her public support of Musk’s vision.

Following Musk’s takeover of Twitter, Crawford became a prominent figure within the company but eventually faced a layoff in early 2023. Her subsequent comments shed light on Musk’s leadership style, citing charm, humor, but also unpredictability as key characteristics.

With Zuckerberg’s recent launch of Threads, Meta’s answer to Twitter, Crawford’s move to the Messenger team could signify strategic shifts in the tech landscape. Zuckerberg’s ambitions to create a public conversations app with a massive user base, potentially challenging Twitter, are now bolstered by Crawford’s expertise and experience.

Despite her transition to Meta, Crawford affirmed her intention to continue using both X and Threads, emphasizing the value of engaging with various social platforms as a product developer.

As Crawford embarks on this new chapter at Meta, the tech industry remains abuzz with speculations on the future trajectory of the company and its evolving competition with established players like Twitter.