Twitter is about to have a new female CEO to replace Elon Musk

In a tweet on May 11, billionaire Elon Musk revealed that he had hired a new CEO for Twitter, and "she will start working in about 6 weeks" but did not say who that person was.

The billionaire has not named any potential candidates and it is unclear who he has named as his successor. However, Linda Yaccarino, the top advertising sales executive at Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, is in talks to take over, according to an exclusive report from the Wall Street Journal.

After Mr. Musk took over Twitter in October 2022, many advertisers paused spending over concerns about the company's direction under new leadership.

Of the top 100 advertisers on Twitter before the Tesla CEO acquired the company, 37 spent nothing on Twitter ads in the first quarter of 2023, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. An additional 24 brands reduced their monthly ad spend on the platform by at least 80%.

Ms. Yaccarino is known for her close ties to marketers and advertising agencies. Ms. Yaccarino interviewed Mr. Musk at an advertising conference in Miami in April.

Mr. Musk said his role would shift to executive chairman and chief technology officer, overseeing Twitter’s products, software and systems. While he is stepping down from the CEO role, Mr. Musk will likely retain significant control over the company’s future direction.

World - Twitter is about to have a new female CEO to replace Elon Musk — Linda Yaccarino and Twitter CEO Elon Musk at the POSSIBLE Miami Event 2023 in April. Photo: Ad Age

That means the new CEO can focus on business, which Yaccarino is certainly capable of. She ran a multibillion-dollar advertising business and has the respect of many CMOs who need convincing to keep spending on Twitter.

According to The Verge, the reason Mr. Musk has not announced this name is because at this time she is still actively preparing for Upfront, a major annual event for NBCUniversal advertisers on May 15.

In addition, Ms. Yaccarino's departure is also a big shock to NBCUniversal after Mr. Jeff Shell left the company's CEO position.

After acquiring Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, Mr. Musk dissolved the board of directors and became the sole CEO and director of the platform.

Since then, he has faced a barrage of criticism for sudden policy changes at Twitter, raising concerns about the impact on users.

In December 2022, Mr. Musk conducted a poll on the platform asking users whether he should step down as CEO of Twitter, with a majority of users answering “Yes.”

Mr Musk said he would abide by the results of the probe, but only if he “found someone stupid enough to take the job” .

Nguyen Tuyet (According to CNN, Reuters, WSJ)

Source