Somto BisinaLinda Yaccarino, previously NBCUniversal’s top advertising sales executive, has been officially announced as the new CEO of Twitter by Elon Musk.
Musk, who acquired Twitter last fall, tweeted his excitement about Yaccarino joining the company and mentioned that she would primarily focus on business operations while he concentrates on product design and new technology. The goal is to transform the platform into an all-encompassing app called “X, the everything app.”
Yaccarino is expected to assume her role at Twitter by the end of June. Musk, on the other hand, will take on the positions of executive chair and CTO. His acquisition of Twitter was a result of a contentious back-and-forth with the board.
One of Yaccarino’s primary responsibilities will be to rebuild Twitter’s advertising business, which Musk claimed had suffered a significant decline of up to 50% after he acquired the company.
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Advertisers have been cautious due to Musk’s unpredictable decisions in running Twitter and his reinstatement of previously banned accounts.
Yaccarino is known to hold conservative political views and had served on Donald Trump’s council on sports and nutrition during his presidency.
However, her imminent appointment as Twitter CEO caused a stir on “conspiracy Twitter” as right-wing users discovered her affiliation with the World Economic Forum (WEF), an organization they perceive negatively. Yaccarino had chaired the WEF’s Taskforce on the Future of Work.
After announcing Yaccarino’s hire, Musk commented that he believes people from both ends of the political spectrum will find her to be smart, fair, and reasonable.
This announcement followed Musk’s previous day’s announcement about hiring a new CEO without disclosing her name. Reports soon revealed that Yaccarino, NBCU’s chairman of global advertising and partnerships, was in talks for the Twitter CEO position. On Friday, prior to Musk’s confirmation, Yaccarino resigned from NBCU.
Musk had previously stated his intention to step aside as Twitter’s chief executive once he found a suitable replacement. However, he will retain full control of the social network and remain closely involved in its management.
Although Musk’s deal for Twitter was initially valued at $44 billion, he now values the company at $20 billion. He has recently renamed the company “X Corp.” as the parent organization of Twitter.
Yaccarino’s interest in Twitter stems from recognizing the opportunities within the platform. Lou Paskalis, a former senior marketing executive at Bank of America, mentioned that Twitter is likely selling advertising at significant discounts in exchange for volume commitments.
Before her tenure at NBCU, Yaccarino spent 20 years in ad sales and marketing roles at Turner, holding positions such as EVP/COO of advertising sales, marketing, and acquisitions.
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