Twitter hires Google executive as head of retail

Twitter Inc has hired an advertising executive from Google Inc to head its retail division, as the online messaging company ramps up hiring and works to expand its business ahead of an initial public offering, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

J.J. Hirschle, who directed media and entertainment advertising at Google, will be responsible for the team selling advertising products to retail companies, the agency said, citing Will Stickney, a spokesman for Twitter.

Hirschle is to start on October 28, the same day Twitter is expected to kick off its investor roadshow where it will pitch its offering to Wall Street before shares start trading in mid-November.

Since Twitter was spun out of a struggling San Francisco startup in 2006, it has grown to about 2,300 employees as of September.

Twitter could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside of regular U.S. business hours.