Things are not looking right for Twitter as its China Head Kathy Chen, has resigned on Dec. 31, 2016 within just seven months of joining the company. The exact reason for her departure is not yet revealed by Twitter, but technology experts believe that it is going to hit Twitter's China operations in plenty. China has always been a tough place to exist for technology giants. Be it Google, Facebook, or Apple everyone has faced a tough time in China, and now Twitter is falling in the same league.
Pretty young and talented, Chen has joined Twitter's China operations in April 2016 as a Managing Director. Kathy Chen has previously worked for Cisco and Microsoft at higher profiles. She is known for her bold moves in bringing global advertisers closer to the Chinese audience and bringing Chinese advertisers closer to the global audiences.
Kathy Chen's controversial exit has raised many concerns for the company. Although, Twitter is already banned in China, the company still exclusively works to promote the Chinese advertisers at the global level and especially to the people of Chinese decedents living in the west. Chen is the third high-profile executive to leave the company in a controversial manner followed by Chief Technology Officer Adam Messinger and Chief Operating Officer Adam Bain, who both have left recently.
Chen has not revealed her side of the story on her dramatic decision, but in her departure tweet, she mentioned the company is changing its strategy for South Asia. "Now that the Twitter APAC team is working directly with Chinese advertisers, this is the right time for me to leave the company," said Chen in one of her tweets.
Political amplifiers believe that Chen's Chinese government connection could be a possible reason of her departure. She has served in the Chinese military previously and tagged Pro-Chinese by the Chinese Social Activist groups. The company has not announced Chen's replacement yet. May be this time the company is looking for a more popular face to replace to restore the company's prestige in China.
