Who is Twitter’s new CEO? Following Twitter owner Elon Musk’s announcement that he had found a new leader for the social network and will transition into a new role as a chief technologist, the Wall Street Journal reported that NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino is in talks to become the social network’s chief executive officer.
Without identifying the person, Musk stated in a tweet on Thursday that the company’s new CEO will start in about six weeks. An email seeking comment from Yaccarino, chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal Media, went unanswered, and a spokesman for the company said she was rehearsing for the Upfront presentations to advertisers.
Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!
My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2023
But Elon Musk has not yet confirmed Who is Twitter’s new CEO?
Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last October and indicated that he’d only be in charge for a limited time to complete the organizational overhaul he thought the company needed to prosper.
While making radical changes, Musk bemoaned having “too much work” and sleeping at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.
When Musk polled his Twitter followers in December about whether he should step down as CEO, 57.5% of them agreed. After the changeover, the billionaire will continue as executive chairman.
Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. CEO Elon Musk has come under fire for his abrupt policy changes at Twitter and disregard for his other companies. Additionally, he changed the name of the company that controls Twitter to X Holdings, an organization that eventually might control all of his businesses—an idea he has openly discussed.
Aside from social media, Musk has stated that he wants to expand Twitter into an “everything app,” which would include a financial services component.
The aftermath of his ownership, including an advertiser exodus, will be dealt with by the new CEO. Twitter’s revenue has decreased by 50% since October due to a “massive decline” in advertising, according to Musk, despite a slight increase in daily users since the beginning of 2022.
Less than 1% of users subscribe to the company’s Twitter Blue subscription service plan, which has also been struggling. Musk has eliminated thousands of jobs, reduced the company’s content moderation, and permitted the return of accounts that had been blocked for violating the rules.
Musk already has a friendly relationship with Yaccarino, who interviewed him last month at a major advertising conference in Miami and called him “friend” and “buddy” on stage. Recently, Twitter and NBCU expanded their Olympic Games partnership.
“I can say that she would be my first choice, and my only choice, to save the platform from the hands of its owner,” said Lou Paskalis, who advises marketers as chief strategy officer at Ad Fontes Media, on Twitter. “I still cannot understand why she’d subject herself to @elonmusk, however!”
Also read: Elon Musk’s life documentary ‘The Cult of Elon’ to release this month
