After almost nine years at Twitter, top sales exec Matt Derella is leaving the company. Sarah Personette, currently Twitter’s VP of global client solutions, is being promoted to step into his role at the social networking company.
During his time at Twitter, Derella, whose most recently title was customer lead, built out and led the sales organization serving business advertisers and securing partnerships with media conglomerates worldwide. The former Google ad exec is leaving Twitter to pursue “long-held passions and spend more time with his family,” according to a Twitter spokesperson.
Derella will stay on with Twitter through Aug. 6. “Twitter is grateful to Mr. Derella for his nearly nine years of service and wishes him the best in his future endeavors,” the company said in an 8-K filing Tuesday.
Personette will become Twitter’s chief customer officer effective Aug. 1, reporting directly to CEO Jack Dorsey and joining the company’s senior management team. based in New York, she was hired by Twitter in the fall of 2018 and has led the company’s global teams focused on client partnerships, agencies and brand strategy.
“It is with humility, deep gratitude, and an incredible amount of excitement that I take on this new role,” Personette said in a statement. “I am thrilled to be able to lead a team that is driven by purpose and that helps businesses and professionals thrive, while simultaneously fueling growth for our own company in service of our mission.”
Derella said in a statement provided by the company, “I leave Twitter confident in the path forward and under leadership that is stronger than ever. Sarah brings the integrity, drive, global mindset and heart to help us continue to grow in a durable way going forward.”
Before joining Twitter, Personette was COO of Refinery29, where she oversaw business strategy and development, customer revenue, business marketing, growth and analytics, creative services, and research. She was of Facebook’s VP of global business marketing from 2014-17, and previously was U.S. president of Universal McCann Worldwide and senior VP at Starcom Mediavest Group.
Since 2016, Personette has served as a corporate director for Build-A-Bear Workshop. In her philanthropic work, she is a director of Northwestern University’s Alumnae Board, president elect of New York Women in Communications (NYWICI) and board member of All In Together. Personette holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations from Northwestern.
