Twitter COO Noto jumps ship to head online lender SoFi

(Reuters) - Twitter Inc’s (TWTR.N) Chief Operating Officer Anthony Noto resigned to join online lender Social Finance Inc (SoFi) as its chief executive officer, sending the microblogging site’s shares down more than 3 percent in early trading on Tuesday.

Noto was Goldman Sachs’ top tech banker and led Twitter’s successful IPO in 2013 before joining the company the following year.

He was responsible for Twitter’s business and revenue-generating operations as its COO.

“Anthony has been an incredible advocate for Twitter and a trusted partner to me and our leadership team,” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in a statement.

MKM Partners’ analysts said investors would consider the departure a meaningful blow to Twitter’s turnaround plans.

SoFi said Noto will join as CEO and director from March 1.

The online lender's former CEO, Mike Cagney, had stepped down in September after the San Francisco-based company launched an investigation into claims that current and former employees were sexually harassed at work. (reut.rs/2DxfR5T)

The Wall Street Journal had reported on Saturday that SoFi was in talks with Noto to hire him as its CEO.