Prince Alwaleed bin Talal does not want Jack Dorsey to remain Twitter boss

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said social media Twitter's interim CEO Jack Dorsey should not be given the job on a permanent basis.

The Financial Times reported the Prince as saying that Twitter needed a new leader with extensive marketing experience, and Dorsey should return to his job running the mobile payments company Square.

Dorsey, a co-founder of Twitter, was named interim head of the company, after Dick Costolo announced his resignation as CEO with effect from 1 July.

"Jack has another company called Square which requires a lot of attention and a full-time job round there. I believe and trust that Jack Dorsey is there on a temporary basis," Alwaleed, who is one of Twitter's earliest and biggest shareholders, told FT in an interview.

"The new leader has to have tech savviness, an investor-oriented process and a marketing mentality."

Alwaleed acquired about 3% stake in Twitter in 2011 for $300m (£193m, €266m) in a joint purchase involving his personal wealth and funds from Kingdom Holding, the investment company controlled by him. As of now, he holds about 5% stake in the social networking site through personal investments and Kingdom Holdings.

Speaking about the management change at 21st Century Fox, where Rupert Murdoch would hand over the CEO post to his son James, the Prince said James's elevation was critical for Fox to navigate the transformation of the media landscape.

"The whole world is transitioning now from TV to new tools of delivery and James is the man to run this process. He is the ideal man for the full convergence of media and technology and internet at Fox," he said.

In 2014, the prince sold almost his entire holding in News Corp, the newspaper arm of Murdoch's media empire. However, he kept his 7% stake in Fox, the movies-and-television business, where James is currently serving as co-chief operating officer.