Twitter owner Elon Musk has finally chosen his replacement as CEO—NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino.
Key Details
- Musk tweeted cryptically on Thursday that he had finally chosen a new CEO to run his social-media platform and that she would be transitioning into the role roughly within the next six weeks.
- As the executive chair, he will take a backseat and oversee product design, new technology, software, and system operations.
- Musk subsequently revealed on Friday morning that his candidate was Yaccarino, welcoming her.
- “I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter! Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app,” tweeted Musk.
- Yaccarino similarly tweeted her gratitude for her time at NBC Universal and the team she led.
Why It’s News
Musk’s choice of Yaccarino speaks to his perspective on the future direction of Twitter and where its most immediate focus is in terms of revamping the platform into his proposed “everything app.” Yaccarino was the head of advertising at NBCUniversal for a decade and will be stepping into a position where expertise in advertising is necessary, as the social-media giant has hemorrhaged advertising partners since Musk took over in October.
Musk choosing to install a new CEO is not surprising. He has repeatedly promised to bring in a new CEO as soon as he found someone who shared his vision for the company, most recently mentioning this in February. He has remained the company’s public face as owner and regularly responds to Twitter comments about the state of the platform.
Backing Up A Bit
He has faced continual pressure from investors and clients who argue that his tenure as Twitter CEO has distracted him from vital projects at Tesla and SpaceX. As we reported yesterday, ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood praised Musk in a recent interview for his ambitious leadership and decision-making.
