Elon Musk steps down as CEO of Twitter. The multibillionaire, who bought the social network last year for $44 billion, announced on Thursday that he has hired a new CEO for the company. He did not name his replacement, but said “she” will take over in about six weeks. Reports suggest that Linda Yaccarino, the current head of global advertising and partnerships for NBCUniversal, would replace Musk as Twitter’s new CEO.
Musk has been Twitter’s CEO since finalizing the social networking giant’s high-profile privatization in late October last year. In December, he announced that he would step aside once he finds someone to lead the company. Looks like he’s finally found the right person.
“Excited to announce that I have hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She starts in ~6 weeks! Musk said in a tweet on Thursday. He added that he will take on the role of executive chairman and CTO (chief technology officer) at the company. Twitter’s current CEO will oversee “product, software & sysops” in his new role.
NBCUniversal’s head of advertising could be Twitter’s new CEO
Shortly after Musk’s tweet, the social network was buzzing with rumors about the next Twitter CEO. All hands now point to Linda Yaccarino. People familiar with the situation confirmed told The Wall Street Journal that Yaccarino is in talks to replace Elon Musk as the new head of Twitter.
The director of NBCUniversal reportedly wanted this job for a long time. She recently interviewed Musk at her “Possible” advertising conference in Miami and tweeted about NBC’s partnership with Twitter for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
Yaccarino is also said to share similar political views to Musk. All in all, the deal seems closed. Perhaps as Musk said, he has already “hired” a new CEO for Twitter.
The reason he didn’t mention her in his tweet is that Yaccarino still works at NBC Universal and is currently preparing for the company’s annual Upfront presentation to advertisers next Monday. An NBCUniversal representative told the media that Yaccarino is rehearsing for the presentation. She probably preferred to focus on her current job and asked Musk not to name her the new Twitter CEO just yet.
As Musk has confirmed, he will not be leaving Twitter leadership roles following the arrival of the new CEO. He remains the company’s executive chairman and CTO. Yaccarino, meanwhile, will likely only focus on the business side.
She joined NBCUniversal in 2011 after 20 years at Turner Broadcasting. She has extensive experience in the ad world, something Twitter needs to revive after a chaotic few months at the start of the Musk era when several advertisers left the platform. Time will tell how Twitter changes under Yaccarino. Well, we first need official confirmation that she will be Twitter’s new CEO. We’ll let you know when we have more information.
