London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026

These are the men running Elon Musk’s Twitter

The billionaire has installed several well experienced, well professionally diverted, and loyal members of his inner circle to enact his vision for the social media platform. I personally do not agree with all their suggestions, but it doesn’t mean that they are wrong or mine are better. Time will tell.

Late last month, Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter and immediately fired four of the company’s most senior executives.

In their place, he’s installed a small council of lieutenants to assess the company and begin implementing his vision. The group includes Musk’s personal lawyer, his chief of staff, a couple investor friends and a former Twitter executive who left the company years ago.

The new regime has already started mass layoffs, discussed the company’s content moderation plans and sent out orders to employees to begin working on a paid verification feature. They also met with advertisers who provide Twitter with most of its revenue and have shown concern over how Musk might run the company.

They’re tasked with keeping the company going and ramping up its revenue.

Here’s a run-down of who they are.


Jason Calacanis

A tech investor, podcast host and longtime Musk associate, Calacanis’ texts with Musk were among those that appeared in court documents released as part of Twitter’s lawsuit to force Musk to buy the company. Calacanis pitched Musk ideas on how to change Twitter before the acquisition. And now that Musk is formally the owner, Calacanis has been on Twitter soliciting feedback from users on what kind of features they want to see.

In his private texts to Musk, Calacanis suggested that Twitter require employees return to the office for at least two days a week, which he said would reduce the workforce by 20 percent, through “voluntary departures.” He also criticized Twitter’s premium features and proposed expanding verified badges to more users, the messages show.

In private texts, he told Musk that becoming the new chief executive of Twitter is his “dream job.” He’s not CEO, but Musk has kept Calacanis around as part of the transition and his title is listed internally as a software engineer.

On Monday, Calacanis tweeted that he was in New York to meet with advertisers on behalf of Twitter.


Jared Birchall

Birchall is one of Musk’s closest advisers and manages the billionaire’s personal fortune as head of his family office since 2016. He’s a former Morgan Stanley wealth manager and helped set up the financing for Musk’s Twitter buyout.

Birchall also serves as chief executive of Neuralink, Musk’s brain interface tech start-up and as a director of his tunneling company, Boring Co., though it’s unclear if he actually wields power there or is simply in charge on paper. Birchall is Musk’s fixer, helping arrange the purchase and sale of his houses and the hiring of security guards.

Over the last few days, Birchall has been one of the people strategizing inside Twitter.


Alex Spiro

A lawyer at New York law firm Quinn Emanuel, Spiro has become a bigger and bigger figure in Musk’s orbit over the past few years. He helped Musk win a defamation lawsuit for his comments insulting a cave diver he got into a Twitter fight with over the rescue of a Thai boys soccer team several years ago.

Spiro has also represented a roster of famous athletes and musicians, including Aaron Hernandez in his 2016 murder trial and Jay-Z in a business dispute over a perfume endorsement deal.

The lawyer is now managing the legal, government relations, policy and marketing teams at Twitter. He was also involved in the layoff plan that went into effect in recent days.


David Sacks

Sacks has worked with Musk since the two were part of PayPal’s team in the early 2000s. They both made fortunes when the company sold, and Sacks has invested in a string of successful start-ups since then, including Airbnb, Facebook and Uber. He’s also become a conservative media figure and a major Republican donor who helped fund the successful recall of San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin earlier this year.

In September, he wrote an article advocating for a referendum in Russia-occupied eastern Ukraine asking residents if they wanted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, an idea Musk later tweeted himself.

Sacks recently appeared in a Twitter company directory with an official Twitter email and the title “staff software engineer”.


Sriram Krishnan

Krishnan helps lead cryptocurrency investments at Silicon Valley venture capital heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz, which invested $400 million in Musk’s Twitter acquisition.

He’s also worked in product development positions at Facebook, Snapchat and, from 2017 till 2019 at Twitter.

On Monday he said he was helping Musk out at Twitter “temporarily.” Krishnan is the only one in Musk’s team that has actually worked at Twitter before.

Other advisors are tech experts outside USA, and helping Elon Musk with ideas, coding, and research.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The Great Western Exit: Why Best Citizens Are Fleeing the Rich World [PODCAST]
The New Robber Barons of Intelligence: Are AI Bosses More Powerful Than Rockefeller?
The End of the Old Order [Podcast]
Britain’s Democracy Is Now a Costume
The AI Gold Rush Is Coming for America’s Last Open Spaces [Podcast]
The Pentagon’s AI Squeeze: Eight Tech Giants Get In, Anthropic Gets Shut Out [Podcast]
The War Map: Professor Jiang’s Dark Theory of Iran, Trump, China, Russia, Israel, and the Coming Global Shock [Podcast]
Labour Is No Longer a National Party [Podcast]
AI Isn’t Stealing Your Job. It’s Dismantling It Piece by Piece.
Lawyers vs Engineers: Why China Builds While America Litigates [Podcast]
Churchill’s Glass: The Drunk, the Doctor, and the Myth Britain Refuses to Sober Up From
Apple issues an unusual warning: this is how your iPhone can be hacked without you doing anything
Kennedy’s Quiet War on Antidepressants Sparks Alarm Across America’s Medical Establishment
The Met Gala Meets the Age of Billionaire Backlash
Russian Oligarch’s Superyacht Crosses Hormuz via Iran-Controlled Route
Gunfire Disrupts White House Correspondents’ Dinner as Trump Is Evacuated
A Leak, a King, and a Fracturing Alliance
Inside the Gates Foundation Turmoil: Layoffs, Scrutiny, and the Cost of Reputational Risk
UK Biobank Breach Exposes Health Data of 500,000, Listed for Sale on Chinese Platform
KPMG Cuts Around 10% of US Audit Partners After Failed Exit Push
French Police Probe Suspected Weather-Data Tampering After Unusual Polymarket Bets on Paris Temperatures
CATL Unveils Revolutionary EV Battery Tech: 1000 km Range and 7-Minute Charging Ahead of Beijing Auto Show
Crypto Scammers Capitalize on Maritime Chaos Near the Strait of Hormuz: A Rising Threat to Shipping Companies
Changi Airport: How Singapore Engineered the World’s Most Efficient Travel Experience
Power Dynamics: Apple’s Leadership Shakeup, Geopolitical Risks in the Strait of Hormuz, and Europe's Energy Strategy Amidst Global Challenges
Apple's Leadership Transition: Can New CEO John Ternus Navigate AI Challenges and Geopolitical Pressures?
Italy’s €100K Tax Gambit: Europe’s Soft Power Tax Haven
News Roundup
Microsoft lost 2.5 millions users (French government) to Linux
Privacy Problems in Microsoft Windows OS
News roundup
Péter András Magyar and the Strategic Reset of Hungary
Hungary After the Landslide — A Strategic Reset in Europe
Meghan Markle Plans Exclusive Women-Focused Retreat During Australia Visit
Starmer and Trump Hold Strategic Talks on Securing Strait of Hormuz Amid Rising Tensions
Unofficial Australia Visit by Prince Harry and Meghan Expected to Stir Tensions with Royal Circles
Pipeline Attack Cuts Significant Share of Saudi Arabia’s Oil Export Capacity
UK Stocks Rise on Ceasefire Momentum and Renewed Focus on Diplomacy
UK to Hold Further Strategic Talks on Strait of Hormuz Security
Starmer Voices Frustration as Global Tensions Drive Up UK Energy Costs
UK Students Voice Concern Over Proposal for Automatic Military Draft Registration
Rising Volatility Drives Uncertainty in UK Fuel and Petrol Prices
UK Moves to Deploy ‘Skyhammer’ Anti-Drone System to Strengthen Airspace Defense
New Analysis Explores UK Budget Mechanics in ‘Behind the Blue’ Feature
Man Arrested After Four Die in Channel Crossing Tragedy
UK Tightens Immigration Framework with New Sponsor Rules and Fee Increases
UK Foreign Secretary Highlights Impact of Intensified Strikes in Lebanon
UK Urges Inclusion of Lebanon in US-Iran Ceasefire Framework
UK Stocks Ease as Ceasefire Doubts in Middle East Weigh on Investor Confidence
UK Reassesses Cloud Strategy Amid Criticism Over Limited Support Measures
×