NEW YORK: Twitter Inc Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey will step down from his role and a successor has been lined up, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The company’s board has been preparing for Dorsey’s departure since last year, the source said.

The news comes as Twitter has accelerated the pace of its product innovation over the past year to compete with social media rivals such as Facebook Inc and TikTok, and to reach its goal of doubling annual revenue by 2023. Twitter was not immediately available for comment.

Shares of the microblogging platform surged 9% in early trading, while those of digital payments firm Square Inc, of which Dorsey is also chief executive, were up 3%. Trading in the shares was then suspended ahead of an expected announcement.

In his latest tweet on Nov. 28, Dorsey said: “I love twitter”. The “likes” on that tweet surged to more than 54,000 on Monday. CNBC was first to report Dorsey’s move.