Linda Yaccarino appointed as Twitter’s new CEO

Elon Musk has appointed the former advertising chief at NBCUniversal, Linda Yaccarino, as the new CEO of Twitter. The appointment comes as Twitter looks to boost its ad revenue. Yaccarino’s appointment also comes as the social media company struggles with many challenges, including a massive debt load.

Elon Musk appoints Yaccarino as the new Twitter CEO

Musk announced the new appointment in a tweet. Yaccarino is taking over the new position as Twitter’s chief executive after spending many years growing the advertisement business at NBCUniversal. She will play an instrumental role in revitalizing the ad business on Twitter.

“I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the CEO of Twitter! [She] will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology. Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app,” Musk said.

Musk had said that the new Twitter CEO would take over her new role in around six weeks. He has also said that he will still work as the executive chairman and Chief Technology Officer at the social media company, overseeing product, software, and system operations.

Since Musk acquired Twitter in October last year, the platform has faced many challenges, advertisers have fled the platform, and the company has shed around 80% of its employees. Earlier this year, Musk admitted that Twitter had recorded a significant decline in ad revenue.

Musk has said that Yaccarino will help create an all-around app providing access to various services, including peer-to-peer payments. However, the appointment of an advertising veteran shows that the social media platform will still focus on digital ads as a core source of revenue.

Musk has made some efforts to grow Twitter’s revenues. The billionaire has focused on the Twitter Blue subscription feature, which costs $8 monthly for account verification. However, the feature has not had much success, with the subscribers as of April 30 being a little over 619,000.

Yaccarino’s tenure at NBCUniversal

The exit of Yaccarino from NBCUniversal is a major hit for the company. Yaccarino is another major executive who has left the entertainment giant over the past month. In April, NBC’s parent company, Comcast, said that NBCUniversal’s CEO, Jeff Shell, would leave after admitting to an inappropriate relationship with another employee.

Following Yaccarino’s departure, the advertising president of the company will serve as the interim chairman of the company’s advertising and partnerships group. NBC appointed Marshall as the president of ad sales and partnerships in 2018 to oversee the company’s entertainment, sports, and advanced advertising sales.

The appointment also comes at a crucial time for NBCUniversal as the company prepares its annual presentation to advertisers on Monday. She joined NBC in 2011 after working for 15 years at Turner Entertainment. Yaccarino has been attributed to the success of the network’s ad sales revenues in the digital world.