Elon Musk Appoints Linda Yaccarino as Twitter’s New Chief
Date: 2023-05-12
Elon Musk has tapped NBCUniversal advertising sales
chief Linda Yaccarino to succeed him as Twitter’s CEO.
"I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as
the new CEO of Twitter!," Musk tweeted Friday morning.
He said
Yaccarino will focus primarily on Twitter's business while he focuses on
product design and new technology.
"Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X,
the everything app," said Musk, who is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
Tesla stock
tumbled on the news that Musk would maintain a substantial role at Twitter.
Musk said Thursday that Twitter’s new leader would start in
about six weeks and that he would transition to executive
chairman and chief technology officer but did not name Yaccarino.
Yaccarino was
scheduled to make a sales presentation to the advertising industry Monday
before she abruptly stepped down Friday morning.
"It has been an absolute honor to be part of Comcast NBCUniversal and lead the most incredible team," Yaccarino said in a statement.
Twitter
under Musk Twitter has always been a hotspot for
climate change misinformation. On Musk's watch, it's heating up.
Musk bought
Twitter for $44 billion last October. He said he would serve as CEO until he
had completed an overhaul of the struggling company.
Who is Linda Yaccarino, Twitter’s
new CEO?
Until her resignation Friday,
Yaccarino was chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal
and oversaw 2,000 employees and $13 billion in annual advertising revenue.
Her appointment as Twitter’s new CEO
was well received on Madison Avenue. Respected in the advertising world, she
brings to Twitter a resume packed with experience and Rolodex loaded with
connections to marketers.
