Linda Yaccarino, formerly an advertising executive at NBCUniversal, has stepped down from her position to assume the CEO role at Twitter.
Twitter owner Elon Musk recently made the announcement on the platform when he revealed his intention to resign from his position as CEO of the social media platform. Musk said that Yaccarino would commence her role in approximately six weeks.
I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!@LindaYacc will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 12, 2023
Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app. https://t.co/TiSJtTWuky
Yaccarino held the position of Chairman of Global Advertising and Partnerships at NBCU. She played a role in introducing NBCU's ad-supported streaming service, Peacock, during her tenure as the head of advertising sales.
According to reports, Musk aims to attract advertisers back to the platform following his takeover in 2022. The temporary suspension of advertising spending on Twitter by many advertisers was prompted by concerns about the platform's relaxed content moderation under Musk's leadership.
The presence of an advertising executive in a leadership role may help alleviate concerns among companies and persuade them that Twitter remains a profitable source of revenue.
For example, Yaccarino engaged in an on-stage interview with Musk at an April conference held in Miami Beach, Florida. During the interview, she inquired about his vision for Twitter and probed him about his occasionally controversial tweets.
"Elon has committed to being accessible to everyone for continual feedback," Yaccarino said near the end of the interview. "If freedom of speech, as he says, is the bedrock of this country, I'm not sure there's anyone in this room who could disagree with that."
However, despite efforts made by some to establish continual feedback with Twitter, their attempts have been met with a poop emoji in reply.
28 Comments
So what's the over/under on how long she lasts? I figure maybe 6 months. Elon will either drive her away quickly with his micro-management or she's go full red pill and drive the company into the ground just as fast as if he was running it alone.
Maybe she should shadow Gwynne Shotwell over at SpaceX for a few months first to learn how to deal with Elon. Shotwell is an amazing leader over there, she does an amazing job running SpaceX and keeping Elon in check.
This. Article could really do without that last line.
It’s not like a hostile press didn’t earn it.
The real story here is that Twitter is on the up and up and is looking forward to a bright future. With smart, successful people at the helm.
Can’t wait to see it become “X.” Will dominate.
She's the CEO in name only. She was hired to sell advertising, period. Regardless of titles, Musk remains the de facto CEO of Twitter and under his control Twitter will continue to devolve into the cesspool he is making it.
Or, in other words, advertisers will continue to flee Twitter because, really, who wants their product associated with the rants of white nationalist lunatics?
Bizarre career move.