Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, has appointed Linda Yaccarino as the new chief executive of Twitter, just six months after he controversially took over the social media company. Ms. Yaccarino is a former head of advertising at NBCUniversal, where she was involved in the launch of its streaming service and oversaw approximately 2,000 people. She will start in her new role in six weeks.
Mr. Musk will remain involved with the company as executive chairman and chief technology officer. His takeover of Twitter last year for $44bn led to pressure on him to find someone else to lead the company so that he could focus on his other businesses, such as Tesla and SpaceX.
Ms. Yaccarino’s appointment is significant given that fewer than 9% of Fortune 500 tech companies are headed by women. She brings to Twitter a deep background in advertising, which is essential to the social media company’s ability to make money. Advertising revenues have fallen sharply since Mr. Musk’s takeover.
Ms. Yaccarino is known for her close collaborations with major brands, finding opportunities for product placement and convincing them to advertise alongside television shows, even adult ones such as Sex and the City. Her experience in advertising is expected to help Twitter monetize the platform better than it has been doing.
When Mr. Musk first discussed his plans for Twitter last year, he said he wanted to reduce the platform’s reliance on advertising and make changes to the way it moderated content. He also wanted to expand the site’s functions to include payments, encrypted messaging, and phone calls, turning it into something he called X.
Mr. Musk fired thousands of staff upon his takeover, including those tasked with dealing with abusive posts. He has also overhauled the way the service authenticates accounts, charging for blue ticks in a move that critics say could facilitate the spread of misinformation.
Some of the changes have raised concerns among advertisers who are worried about the risks to their brands. However, Mr. Musk has acknowledged “massive” declines in revenue, although he told the BBC last month that companies were returning.
Ms. Yaccarino’s experience in television is expected to help transform Twitter into something that is less of a micro-blog and more of a video streaming platform, as it used to be.
NBCUniversal said Ms. Yaccarino’s departure came as a surprise, and they wished her the best. The company expressed that she made countless contributions to the company during her 12-year tenure.
The appointment of Linda Yaccarino as the new chief executive of Twitter has been met with mixed reactions from industry experts and analysts. While some have praised her deep background in advertising and experience in media, others have expressed concerns over her ability to handle the challenges posed by Twitter’s user base and content moderation.
However, Yaccarino’s appointment as one of the few women in a top leadership position in a major tech company has been widely hailed as a positive step towards greater diversity in the industry.
“Having a female CEO at a major tech company like Twitter is a significant milestone,” said Jennifer Johnson, a professor of marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It sends a message that the industry is starting to recognize the value of diversity and the need for different perspectives at the top.”
Yaccarino’s appointment also comes at a time when Twitter is under pressure to address issues around content moderation and misinformation on its platform. The company has faced criticism in recent years for its handling of hate speech, harassment, and disinformation, particularly during high-profile events such as elections and political crises.
Many analysts see Yaccarino’s experience in advertising and media as a potential asset for Twitter, as the company looks to diversify its revenue streams and reduce its reliance on advertising.
“Twitter has always struggled to monetize its user base effectively, and Yaccarino’s expertise in advertising could be key in turning that around,” said Mark Mahaney, an analyst at Evercore ISI.
Overall, Yaccarino’s appointment as CEO of Twitter represents a significant change in direction for the company under Musk’s leadership, as he seeks to transform the platform into something that is more than just a microblogging site.
It remains to be seen how successful Yaccarino will be in steering Twitter through its current challenges, but her appointment is certainly a step towards greater diversity and fresh perspectives in the tech industry.