Twitter replaces CFO Mike Gupta with former Goldman exec Noto

Twitter Inc named Anthony Noto as CFO, putting a former Goldman Sachs executive who led its IPO last year in charge of its finances.

Twitter shares rose as much as 4.8 percent after the company’s second management shake-up in three weeks saw the previous CFO, Mike Gupta, named senior vice president of strategic investments.

Both Gupta, who joined Twitter in 2012 from social gaming company Zynga Inc, and Noto will take up their new roles within 30 days, Twitter said in a regulatory filing.

Noto, 46, a former Army ranger and National Football League executive, started as an analyst at Goldman and later became a managing director in the investment firm’s technology, media and telecom investment banking group.

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“Noto’s experience as CFO at the NFL will help Twitter gain more ground in television and advertising,” Hudson Square analyst Daniel Ernst said.

Twitter has reported lackluster user and usage growth for the last couple of quarters and its stock price has nearly halved in the last six months.

“I think he just brings a different skill set. A set that really has very high level view of the competitve landscape, he understands very well what the investment community is looking for given his previous role,” Macquarie Research analyst Ben Schachter said.

Twitter went public in November at $26 a share. The stock rose to a high of $74.73 in December.

Its shares rose as high as $42.95 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday before easing back to $42.71 by late morning.

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Last month, Twitter’s Chief Operating Officer Ali Rowghani, who had been responsible for the company’s efforts to revive flagging user growth, departed after clashing with Chief Executive Dick Costolo over whether he should continue to oversee product innovation.

Reuters