Elon Musk picks advertisement executive Linda Yaccarino as Twitter CEO
The Hindu
Elon Musk on May 12 said he has chosen top advertisement executive Linda Yaccarino as CEO of Twitter as he fights to reverse fortunes at the struggling platform he bought for $44 billion last year.
Elon Musk on May 12 said he has chosen top advertisement executive Linda Yaccarino as CEO of Twitter as he fights to reverse fortunes at the struggling platform he bought for $44 billion last year.
In a tweet, Mr. Musk said he would remain in charge of design and technology at Twitter, with Ms. Yaccarino focusing primarily on business operations and turning Twitter into an “everything app” called X.
“I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!” Mr. Musk wrote in a tweet. He added that Ms. Yaccarino “will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology.”
Ms. Yaccarino has worked at NBCUniversal for nearly 12 years — with her team generating more than $100 billion in ad sales since 2011, her company bio notes. According to LinkedIn, Ms. Yaccarino previously served as NBC’s chair for advertising and client partnerships and as president of cable entertainment and digital advertising sales. Prior to her time with NBC, Yaccarino worked at global entertainment company Turner for almost two decades.
Ms. Yaccarino interviewed Mr. Musk on a Miami stage last month in front of hundreds of advertisers.
Luring advertisers is critical for Mr. Musk and Twitter after many fled in the early months after his takeover of the social media platform, fearing harm to their brands in the ensuing chaos. Mr. Musk said in late April that advertisers had returned, but provided no details.
Ms. Yaccarino could help restore advertisers’ faith in Twitter, ad agency DiGo founder and creative chief Mark DiMassimo said. He noted that Yaccarino successfully integrated and digitized ad sales at Comcast and NBC — and that her track record of cross-selling ads across different platforms could appeal to Musk as he tries to transform Twitter from a social media company to a bigger media platform.
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