Dick Costolo

Dick Costolo, a digital entrepreneur who has launched a series of highly successful ventures, is best known as the former CEO of Twitter from 2010 to 2015.

Costolo graduated in 1985 with a B.S. degree in computer and communication sciences from the University of Michigan.

Costolo co-founded the web feed management provider FeedBurner, which was later acquired by Google. After the acquisition, Costolo began working in other areas of Google. In July 2009, he left Google, and in September 2009 it was announced that he was joining Twitter as its COO. Although his 2010 takeover as CEO was supposed to be temporary, while CEO Evan Williams was on paternity leave, it eventually became a permanent position. In 2011, he would notably proclaim about Twitter that “We're the free speech wing of the free speech party.

In May 2011, it was announced that President Obama had appointed Costolo to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Time magazine named Dick Costolo one of the 10 Most Influential U.S. Tech CEOs. Most recently, Costolo announced that he will launch a fitness startup along with Bryan Oki, CEO of Fitify.

In his speeches, Dick Costolo calls on his experience as a digital entrepreneur, business executive, and surprisingly, his experience as an improvisational comedian to deliver entertaining, insightful speeches with a powerful message about the future of social media and the Internet.