Twitter's (TWTR) already precarious management structure just took another major hit.

Adam Bain, the social media company's second-in-command and the person considered by many to be its future CEO, is leaving. Finance chief Anthony Noto will take over the role of chief operating officer, and Twitter said Wednesday that it's initiating a search for his successor.

Amid the chaos that Twitter has experienced since its IPO three years ago this week, Bain has served as a stabilizing force. He joined the company in 2010 and was a leading candidate to assume the top role after Dick Costolo suddenly resigned last year.

Instead, Jack Dorsey came back to the company he co-founded and served as a CEO while also leading Square.

Now Bain is off to "explore opportunities outside the company," according to a press release on Wednesday.

Twitter's growth has stalled of late, the company still can't turn a profit and the stock has been punished by Wall Street. Potential suitors including Alphabet (GOOGL) and Salesforce.com (CRM) opted not to put forth bids, leaving Twitter to fend for itself in a market where ad dollars are consolidating into the hands of Google and Facebook (FB).

Still, the timing of Bain's exit is somewhat awkward.

Throughout the presidential election that wrapped up Tuesday night, Twitter was home to non-stop political discourse, whether during debates or as a hub for breaking news. The debates were even streamed live on the mobile app, part of an initiative for airing live events including NFL games, Wimbledon and the Olympics.

Twitter shares rallied on Wednesday, gaining 4.1 percent to $19.13, but lost 2.9 percent in after hours trading after Bain's annouced departure. The stock remains 26 below its IPO price from November 2013.

Dorsey spent a fair amount of time cleaning house earlier this year. In January, he overhauled much of the management team, with media head Katie Jacobs Stanton, product lead Kevin Weil, engineering executive Alex Roetter, and human relations head Brian "Skip" Schipper all leaving the company.