New Delhi (India), 12th May 2023: The Wall Street Journal claimed that NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino is in talks to become Twitter’s CEO, following owner Elon Musk’s announcement that he has found a new leader for the social network and will transition into a new role as chief technologist.
Musk stated in a tweet on Thursday that the company’s next CEO will start in around six weeks, although he did not name the candidate.
Musk wrote in a tweet, “Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks! My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.”
Yaccarino, NBCUniversal Media’s chairman of global advertising and partnerships, did not respond to an email seeking comment, and an NBCUniversal representative said she was in rehearsals for the company’s Upfront presentations to advertisers.
Musk already has a friendly relationship with Yaccarino, who interviewed him at a large advertising convention in Miami last month and referred to him as “friend” and “buddy” on stage. Twitter and NBCUniversal have also just increased their Olympic Games cooperation.
Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October, indicating that he would only be in charge for a limited period to complete the organisational makeover he believed was required for the company to thrive.
However, Musk complained about having “too much work” and sleeping at Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco while executing drastic changes.
Musk, who also serves as CEO of Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has come under fire for his abrupt policy changes at Twitter as well as his disregard of his other businesses.
He’s also changed the corporate name of Twitter’s parent company to X Holdings, which might someday be the parent company for all of his enterprises, a notion he’s openly discussed.
The new CEO will have to cope with the consequences of his ownership, such as an advertiser exodus. Despite a modest increase in daily users since early 2022, Twitter’s revenue has dropped by 50% since October due to a “massive decline” in advertising.
Twitter Blue, the company’s subscription service plan, has similarly struggled, attracting fewer than 1% of the user population. Musk has slashed thousands of positions, reduced the company’s content policing, and allowed previously banned accounts to return.
