Elon Musk, the current CEO, announced in a tweet on Friday that Linda Yaccarino, the former head of NBCUniversal’s advertising division, would take over as CEO of Twitter. Musk tweeted, “While I concentrate on product design & new technology, @LindaYacc will primarily focus on business operations.”
Before NBC made the announcement of her departure on Friday morning, Yaccarino had been in discussions for the position and had modernised the advertising business of Comcast Corp’s entertainment and media division. “I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!” Musk said.
After the company lost over 80% of its workforce after Musk obtained Twitter in October, advertisers have abandoned the site out of concern that their advertisements would be displayed next to offensive content. Musk admitted earlier this year that Twitter’s ad revenue fell dramatically.
According to Lou Paskalis, a longtime ad industry executive and CEO of marketing consultant AJL Advisory, Twitter’s “trajectory will immediately take a 180-degree turn” under her direction.
“I think (Yaccarino) has climbed every mountain she could at NBCU and did it impeccably well. And there’s no greater challenge than restoring order at Twitter,” he averred.
Without mentioning Yaccarino, Musk tweeted on Thursday that he had chosen a CEO. According to a source close to Yaccarino, Musk’s post may have sped up the process for her to become a member Twitter, which could mean good news for Tesla shareholders.
Friday saw a 1.3% decline in Tesla shares as analysts noted that Musk could focus on the EV industry with a new CEO in place. Shares of Comcast changed very little.
