CALIFORNIA: Micro-blogging site Twitter Inc has confirmed that the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Adam Bain, is leaving the company ‘to explore other opportunities’.

“Mr Bain will remain at Twitter in the coming weeks to assist with the transition of the chief operating officer role,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Bain, widely credited with building a robust advertising business at the company even as it struggled with user growth, will be replaced by Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Anthony Noto, the company said.

However, the company would begin a search for a new CFO. Noto, who became the finance chief in 2014, will continue to manage the live content business as well as Twitter’s global advertising sales, data and mobile ad exchange MoPub.

Praising the outgoing COO of Twitter, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said: “I think Adam Bain is the most competent person at Twitter. The one part of the business that actually worked was the part he works on, which is advertising.”

In announcing his departure on Twitter, Bain heaped praise on CEO Jack Dorsey saying: “I’m excited to take with me everything I’ve experienced at Twitter & do something totally different and new outside the company. Stay tuned!”

Bain joined Twitter in 2010 when it had almost no revenue and built an advertising sales machine that generated some $2.2 billion last year. A popular executive who was once considered a possible chief executive for the company, Bain was named COO in October last year.