Senior staff leave Elon Musk

A series of senior X staff left Musk's company. Photo: Reuters .

The advertising executive once considered a potential successor to Linda Yaccarino as CEO has left Elon Musk’s social media platform after just 10 months on the job, the latest departure from the billionaire’s senior leadership ranks.

John Nitti, who joined X in January as head of revenue and advertising innovation, left the company on October 26, according to multiple inside sources.

Ms. Yaccarino, who served as CEO for two years, stepped down in July. Her duties have been divided among several executives, including Angela Zepeda, global chief marketing officer, and Nitti, who is considered by industry insiders as a candidate for the CEO position.

His departure comes as Musk faces a wave of high-level departures across the company, a trend that began when the social network was acquired by artificial intelligence startup xAI.

Mike Liberatore, xAI's chief financial officer, also left over the summer after just three months in the role, followed by legal counsel Robert Keele.

X faces a wave of mass resignations by its leaders. Photo: Bloomberg.

In early October, X Chief Financial Officer Mahmoud Reza Banki announced he was leaving after less than a year in the job. The shake-up reflected frustration among some executives with Musk’s abrupt strategic shifts, and difficulties in achieving their own goals due to the billionaire boss’s hands-off management style.

X’s advertising executives have long faced demands from Musk to boost revenue, a pressure that has intensified as he spends billions on infrastructure and chips in the race to develop AI to compete with rivals like OpenAI and Google’s DeepMind.

At the same time, advertising clients have been pushed away by Musk's decision to loosen content moderation standards.

Certain brands have been persuaded to return, while xAI recently signed a media partnership with Disney. The company has also told brands that advertising metrics are improving thanks to the use of xAI’s AI technology, according to an email seen by the FT .

Nitti, the former Verizon CEO, was among the executives frustrated with Musk’s approach to the advertising business, according to an insider. The billionaire was distracted in the first half of the year by his role in the Donald Trump administration, which ended over the summer after a spat with the US president.

He then began making unilateral advertising decisions without consulting his leadership, according to two people familiar with the matter. This included banning hashtag advertising on X, which frustrated customers.

xAI and X have also recently appointed new leadership. Earlier this month, Anthony Armstrong, a former Morgan Stanley banker who advised Musk on his $44 billion acquisition of X, was named xAI's CFO.

Source: https://znews.vn/nhan-su-cap-cao-roi-bo-elon-musk-post1597074.html