Twitter Hires Google Maps Director to Serve as Product VP

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By Seth Fiegerman2014-04-15 18:26:47 UTC

Can Google Maps help Twitter find its way to designing a more mainstream product?

Twitter confirmed Tuesday that it has hired Daniel Graf to serve as its new VP of consumer product. Graf had previously worked at Google since 2011, initially overseeing the company's mobile apps lab before eventually taking over as a director for Google Maps. In the latter role, he led the team that developed the new Google Maps app for iOS last year.

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Graf announced the news on Twitter and was quickly congratulated by several Twitter employees, including the company's CEO, Dick Costolo.

Graf's hiring comes four months after Michael Sippey announced he would be stepping down as Twitter's VP of product. Mike Isaac at Re/code, who was first to report the news Graf's appointment, notes that Twitter has struggled to create a cohesive consumer product strategy."

Some on Twitter were quick to point out that Graf has only tweeted three times to date from his current account, though it appears he actually switched over from another account, which he used frequently until 2009. Even if he's not an avid user of the service, an outside perspective could prove to be what Twitter needs now as it weighs how to make the social network more accessible and engaging for new users.

Topics: Business, Twitter

Image: Twitter