Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has finally found a CEO for Twitter, six months after he seized control of the social media platform. Taking up the hot seat at the end of June is Linda Yaccarino, former head of advertising at Comcast-owned NBCUniversal.
When Yaccarino arrives, Musk will stay closely involved as executive chairman and chief technology officer. Discussing the move via Twitter, he said: “Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app.”
Yaccarino spent 15 years at Turner before joining NBCU in 2011 and rising through the ranks to become chairman, global advertising and partnerships. In this role, she oversaw a team of 2000 and was responsible for stewarding and monetising the company’s portfolio of linear networks, digital and streaming platforms, distribution and commerce partnerships, and client relationships. According to her LinkedIn entry, she ‘re-engineered NBCUniversal’s advertising business for the 21st century’, developing a unified, tech-enabled trading system and leading the company’s first-ever enterprise-level data strategy, including the launch of NBCUnified.
Yaccarino’s ad industry credentials are unquestioned – but she has the unenviable task of rebuilding partnerships with brands that left the platform in the wake of Musk’s takeover. Musk’s insistence on free speech has led to concerns that this will lead to an increase in hate speech – an area brands don’t want to be associated with.
The hate speech issue aside, Twitter has long struggled to be profitable. Musk has been looking for ways to build the platform’s subscription business but there is no evidence yet that he is making much progress in this respect.
