Jack Dorsey refused on Friday to say whether he would stay on permanently as Twitter’s chief executive.
The company's chairman and co-founder -- who will take over as interim CEO on July 1 when Dick Costolo steps down -- dodged questions about whether he would consider keeping the job.
“I’m not going to answer that question because it’s not what I’m focused on,” he said during an appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box." “My job is to make sure we continue without cadence and amplify.”
Dorsey, who served as the first of Twitter’s three CEOs so far, already holds the top spot at Square, a mobile payment company he founded in 2009. When Twitter announced on Thursday that Costolo -- pilloried by investors over the company’s weak financial performance and slowing user growth -- would move into a boardroom role, Dorsey said he would lead a team to find the next chief executive. Some floated Adam Bain, the company’s head of revenues, as a likely contender.
But Dorsey told analysts on Thursday evening that he and the three other board members helming the search committee had not yet retained a headhunting firm to look for candidates.
That may be, as Business Insider’s Henry Blodget suggests, because Twitter plans to have Dorsey return permanently. The interim period could serve as a trial run and allow Dorsey to slowly exit some of his other responsibilities, perhaps even his C-suite job at Square, Blodget wrote.
Square spokeswoman Colleen Murray referred The Huffington Post to a press release in which Dorsey says he "will continue to lead" the company. Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
But Dorsey’s beard seemed to distract viewers from the question of Twitter’s future. His scraggly facial hair quickly became a trending topic on -- take a guess -- Twitter.
After a commercial break, CNBC’s David Faber asked whether the beard symbolized something about Dorsey's leadership style. Dorsey laughed and said he hadn't been expecting that question.
“People shouldn’t be measured by what they look like,” he said.
That seems to be a philosophy he has carried with him from his years, lest anyone forget his nose ring and spiky blue hair.
This post has bee updated with a comment from Square.