The challenges that await Twitter’s new CEO Parag Agrawal

By naming Parag Agrawal as chief executive officer, Twitter Inc. is turning inward, choosing a low-profile technologist to steer a social network that has underperformed the market, haltingly introduced new products, and struggled to moderate harmful content under a leader long criticised for divided attention.

Agrawal, 37, was named on Monday to succeed cofounder Jack Dorsey after a four-year stint as chief technology officer, a role where he oversaw Twitter’s pursuit of blockchain and other decentralised technologies. Dorsey, 45, will remain on the board through the summer and will stay at the helm of Square Inc., the payments company he also cofounded.