Twitter names Pixar executive as CFO

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Microblogging service Twitter named a chief financial officer on Wednesday, as the two-and-a-half-year old company steps up its efforts to begin making money.

Twitter said Ali Rowghani, who currently serves as the finance chief at Walt Disney's Pixar Animation Studios, will join the Internet start-up in March.

Rowghani's start comes as the company focuses on "creating value for our users and capturing the financial opportunities that result from it," Twitter Chief Executive Officer Evan Williams said in a statement on Wednesday.

Twitter is among the new breed of Internet social media services that are increasingly challenging Web giants such as Google Inc and Yahoo Inc for consumers' online time.

Twitter had 65.2 million unique visitors to its site in December 2009, according to comScore.