Twitter struggled since Musk's controversial takeover, which involved mass layoffs leading to departure of its highest-paying advertisers
Elon Musk has selected Linda Yaccarino, a top ad executive, to assume day-to-day control of Twitter as he endeavors to reverse the platform's fortunes following his $44 billion acquisition last year.
Yaccarino, a highly respected advertising executive, resigned from NBCUniversal on Friday amid speculations that she would replace Musk as Twitter CEO. The platform has struggled since Musk's controversial takeover, which involved mass layoffs and the return of controversial figures, leading to the departure of its highest-paying advertisers.
In a tweet, Musk teased the hiring of Yaccarino, announcing
that he had appointed a woman to take over as the boss of Twitter and its
newly renamed parent company, X Corporation, without disclosing her
identity. Yaccarino's departure from the company that owns NBC, Universal,
and Telemundo occurred shortly after she interviewed Musk at a marketing
conference in Miami.
Yaccarino faces a challenging task in
attracting major advertisers who are wary of associating with conspiracy
theorists and far-right content creators that Musk has encouraged on
Twitter. Her appointment surprised the US media establishment, with
particular criticism directed at her senior role at the World Economic
Forum.
Musk stated that he would continue to oversee design and
technology at Twitter, while Yaccarino would primarily focus on business
operations and transform Twitter into an all-encompassing app called X.
Musk's fascination with the letter X dates back to his involvement with
X.com, an online bank that eventually became PayPal. His aspiration is to
create an everything app similar to China's WeChat, which combines social
media, messaging, and mobile payments.
Yaccarino's previous role
at NBCUniversal involved leading a team of 2,000 people and revitalizing the
advertising business. Her responsibilities included cultivating
relationships with major companies to secure advertising deals across the
NBCU channels. Analysts believe that Yaccarino is precisely what Twitter
needs to rebuild trust with advertisers and bring back prominent brands, but
acknowledge the considerable challenges she faces.
Since Musk took full ownership of Twitter, he has courted
controversy by terminating staff, reinstating far-right figures, suspending
journalists, and introducing fees for previously free services. Yaccarino's
hiring represents a belated fulfillment of Musk's promise to abide by the
results of a Twitter poll in which a majority voted for him to step down.
Wall Street expressed frustration over Twitter diverting Musk's attention
from his other businesses, leading to a rise in Tesla's share prices upon
news of the new CEO's appointment.
