Elon Musk’s social media platform X is dropping one among its longest-running staff. Nick Pickles, the present vice chairman of worldwide affairs on the firm, introduced his resignation yesterday (Sept. 5) in a put up on the platform. “After greater than ten years, tomorrow can be my final day at X,” mentioned Pickles, who didn’t present a motive for his departure. X didn’t reply to requests for remark from Observer.
Pickles was one of many few staff of X, beforehand referred to as Twitter, to have survived Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of the corporate in 2022 and was a trusted member of X CEO Linda Yaccarino’s inside circle. The British govt mentioned he was grateful for Yaccarino’s help and partnership, noting that he made the choice to depart X a number of months in the past and is “trying ahead to taking a while off earlier than a brand new problem.”
Pickles grew to become a outstanding determine all through X’s quite a few clashes with worldwide governments. Censorship battles between X and nations like Brazil, India and Australia have proliferated since Musk’s acquisition and a loosening of content material restrictions on the platform. “It’s important that democratic governments don’t unwittingly endorse or undertake the insurance policies of governments who don’t wish to shield the open, world web,” mentioned Pickles of presidency makes an attempt to take away content material from the positioning in a Might interview with the Monetary Instances. “We danger a race to the underside, with ever extra aggressive sanctions getting used to attempt to management the worldwide web with out respect for world norms and free expression,” he added.
Such points notably got here to a head in Brazil following disagreements between Musk and Brazilian Supreme Courtroom Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The nation’s Supreme Courtroom blocked entry to the positioning in Brazil final week after Musk refused to adjust to courtroom orders relating to the suspension of sure X accounts allegedly spreading disinformation.
Who’s Nick Pickles?
Pickles, 40, started his profession at Twitter in 2014 when he joined the platform as a senior public coverage supervisor in its London workplace. The manager has since labored his approach up by means of the corporate, serving in roles akin to world senior strategist and senior director of worldwide public technique earlier than turning into vice chairman of worldwide affairs final summer season, in keeping with his LinkedIn profile. Pickle’s tasks have been expanded to incorporate world communications after the current departure of Joe Benarroch, one other prime X govt who headed the positioning’s enterprise operations and communications and was fired by Yaccarino in June.
Earlier than pursuing a profession in social media, Pickles headed Massive Brother Watch, a U.Ok. group campaigning towards state surveillance. He additionally had a quick stint in 2010 operating as a conservative parliamentary candidate within the U.Ok. and has beforehand labored as a contract music photographer.
“The fixed throughout my time at Twitter and X has been the superb folks I’ve labored with inside and outdoors the corporate,” mentioned Pickles. “It’s been a privilege to guide the [global affairs] group, and I go away with extra reminiscences and lifelong friendships than I ever anticipated once I first walked into the London workplace again in 2014.”
