Who could be Twitter's new CEO?

Twitter CEO and billionaire Elon Musk is apparently on the hunt for a successor.

"I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job!" Musk tweeted on Dec. 20. "After that, I will just run the software & servers teams."

Less than two months after purchasing the social media site for $44 billion, Musk posted a poll on Dec. 18 asking people if he should resign as the CEO of Twitter. Around 58% chose yes. 

Musk's impulsive and seemingly inconsistent decision-making has drawn criticism from lawmakers, industry executives, advocacy groups, and other stakeholders, making convincing someone to take over Twitter difficult enough.

Twitter mishandled the launch of its $8 monthly subscription service Twitter Blue by at first awarding blue checkmarks to users who later impersonated well-known firms.

The new CEO will have to collaborate with Elon Musk. The second-richest man in the world stated that he wants his employees to be more "hardcore". Any next CEO will presumably be expected by Musk to do the same.

The new CEO of Twitter will also have to manage all the issues that come with leading a social network that is going through financial difficulties. Musk took over Twitter at a time when it was barely profitable, and because of his erratic leadership and divisive views, many well-known advertisers have left.

About half of Twitter's 7,500 employees were let go during Musk's brief leadership of the company, and he later used aggressive tactics like "code reviews" and loyalty demands to drive away even more workers. This has led to concerns over whether Twitter still has access to enough talent to sustain the business.

According to the experts at leading tech website CNET, here are the people who might end up with the job:

Someone from Musk's inner circle

Some members of Musk's inner circle have previously shown a desire to lead Twitter.

Jason Calacanis, a businessman and angel investor who is friends with Elon Musk, has even texted the billionaire to say that running Twitter is his "dream job." Calacanis texted Musk, "Board member, advisor, anything... you have my sword," according to texts made public during Twitter's legal spat with the businessman.

David Sacks, a member of Musk's close circle and a partner at Craft Ventures and a former PayPal executive, was suggested as a candidate in a poll. Sacks received almost 31% of the vote.

Another trusted Musk supporter and the CEO of the Boring Company, Steve Davis, reportedly moved his newborn child to sleep at Twitter's corporate offices while he assisted the billionaire. Davis, who has a background in aerospace engineering, worked at SpaceX, so he is already well-versed in the "hardcore" work ethic favoured by the billionaire.

Jack Dorsey

The co-founder and previous CEO of Twitter has a history of departing and later returning to head the business.

The only problem is that Dorsey is unwilling to take over as CEO again. He responded to a Twitter user who predicted Musk would ask Dorsey to take over as CEO of Twitter in May.

John Legere

John Legere, the former CEO of T-Mobile, had already contacted Musk about leading the social media site but had received a frigid response, reported CNET.

Legere might be the perfect fit for Twitter if he can overcome that first lack of interest. He is a corporate executive with experience managing large organisations. He also has some experience with comebacks, having taken T-Mobile from a struggling, almost-forgotten No. 4 player to the second-largest cellphone carrier in the country.

Legere similarly strikes Roger Cheng, head of CNET News as brazen and erratic, but there is a technique to his craziness that Twitter might find useful.

Margaret Sullivan

Margaret Sullivan, a former media columnist for The Washington Post and an innovative public editor for The New York Times, has a thorough understanding of the ability of media platforms to inform and empower - or turn into a haven for false material intended to sow disbelief.

Yes, she hasn't held the position of CEO of a significant, complex firm. But she can put together a leadership team to handle operations, technology, and content moderation while focusing on the more crucial tasks of defining strategy and the ground rules for a new social media platform where values like ethics, transparency, and trust aren't just buzzwords for tweets.

Caterina Fake

Caterina Fake has enjoyed success in the media world as well as in the tech sector. She began her career in the computer sector as the manager of Netscape's community forums. 

With co-founder Stewart Butterfield, she founded Flickr, a groundbreaking and well-known photo-sharing site, as a result of her expertise in blogging and online communities. In 2005, Yahoo purchased it for almost $20 million. 

Elon Musk

Musk won't be leaving, believes senior writer at the outlet, Daniel Van Boom. To remove him from Twitter, more will be required than a quick Twitter poll.

Musk's promise to resign has a huge, fat asterisk next to it since there will still be a hunt for someone "foolish enough" to accept the position. More than actual change, Musk's time at Twitter has been distinguished by showmanship. 

He has toyed with a number of novel concepts but has since abandoned them after realising all of their drawbacks. Musk made an attempt to monetize the platform by charging $8 to become verified, but he later removed the option after advertisers objected to accounts imitating Coke, Nintendo, and most importantly, Eli Lilly. 

Musk said that free expression is once again available in October, but he later tightened restrictions when hate speech took off on the site.

Reed Hastings

Reed Hastings, co-CEO of Netflix, has already fulfilled the one criterion that Musk must be won over: public flattery. Hastings stated at the NYT Dealbook conference last month that Musk is "the bravest, most creative guy on the earth" and that "what he has done in various areas is fantastic."

Realistically, it's unlikely that Hastings will be interested in the position since Netflix doesn't play around with user-generated content and content moderation is one of Twitter's ongoing problems. For Hastings, this is largely unexplored area.