NBCUniversal Government Linda Yaccarino Replaces Elon Musk As Twitter CEO

Ms Yaccarino had been in talks for the job earlier than NBC introduced her departure at this time.

Former NBCUniversal promoting chief Linda Yaccarino will develop into Twitter’s new CEO, present chief government Elon Musk mentioned on Friday in a tweet.

“I’m excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the brand new CEO of Twitter!” Musk mentioned. “@LindaYacc will focus totally on enterprise operations, whereas I concentrate on product design & new expertise.”

I’m excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the brand new CEO of Twitter!@LindaYacc will focus totally on enterprise operations, whereas I concentrate on product design & new expertise.

Wanting ahead to working with Linda to rework this platform into X, the every little thing app. https://t.co/TiSJtTWuky

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) Might 12, 2023

Yaccarino modernized the Comcast Corp leisure and media division’s promoting enterprise and had been in talks for the job earlier than NBC introduced her departure Friday morning.

Since Musk acquired Twitter in October, advertisers have fled the platform, frightened that their adverts may seem subsequent to inappropriate content material after the corporate misplaced practically 80% of workers. Musk earlier this yr acknowledged that Twitter suffered a large decline in advert income.

Twitter’s “trajectory will instantly take a 180-degree flip” below her management, mentioned Lou Paskalis, a long-time advert business government and CEO of AJL Advisory, a advertising and marketing consultancy.

Musk axed hundreds of workers, rushed the launch of a subscription product that allowed scammers to impersonate main manufacturers and suspended customers with whom he disagreed.

“I feel (Yaccarino) has climbed each mountain she may at NBCU and did it impeccably properly. And there isn’t any better problem than restoring order at Twitter,” he mentioned.

Yaccarino couldn’t be reached for remark.

Her exit is one other huge blow to NBCUniversal. Final month, NBC father or mother Comcast mentioned NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell was leaving after acknowledging an inappropriate relationship with a lady within the firm, following a criticism that prompted an investigation.

Promoting President Mark Marshall will step in as interim chairman of NBCUniversal’s promoting and partnerships group. Marshall was named president of advert gross sales and partnerships in 2018, overseeing NBC’s broadcast leisure, sports activities and superior promoting gross sales.

Yaccarino’s exit comes at a tough time for NBCUniversal, which is getting ready for its annual upfront presentation to advertisers on Monday at Radio Metropolis Music Corridor.

Yaccarino joined NBCU in 2011, after 15 years at Turner Leisure, and has been credited with taking the community’s advert gross sales operation into the digital period.

As broadcast tv audiences migrated to streaming, she took to the stage at Radio Metropolis Music Corridor final yr to inform advertisers their model messages weren’t an afterthought. She mentioned NBCUniversal included adverts in its Peacock streaming service from the outset.

“Twitter wants credibility with the promoting group,” mentioned Greg Kahn, chief government of GK Digital Ventures media consultancy. “Linda has demonstrated her belief, her progressive nature of bringing new companions to the desk and a deep bench of relationships.”

Musk, the CEO of electrical car maker Tesla, accomplished his buy of Twitter in October for $44 billion. He mentioned in December that he would step apart as CEO as soon as he discovered “somebody silly sufficient to take the job.”

On Thursday, Musk tweeted that he had discovered a CEO with out naming Yaccarino. One individual near Yaccarino mentioned Musk’s tweet could properly have accelerated the timetable for her to hitch Twitter, which might be a balm to Tesla shareholders.

Shares of Tesla have been down 1.3% on Friday, as analysts commented {that a} CEO rent would enable Musk to focus on the EV enterprise. Comcast shares have been little modified.

(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)