Table of Contents
Elon Musk’s quest for a new Twitter CEO is now successful, with the company naming Linda Yaccarino as its new CEO. She is a seasoned advertising executive whose presence would likely calm wary advertisers following months of severe changes to content control and verification, but whose background may alienate some of the billionaire’s devoted and free-speech supporters.
The 60-year-old New Yorker will take over as CEO of Twitter in the coming weeks.
In a few weeks, Elon Musk will hand over control of Twitter to Linda Yaccarino. However, who is the new CEO, and how does she fit into Musk’s vision of “the everything app”? Musk, who bought Twitter in October and has been operating it since had long insisted on stepping down as CEO of X Corp.
He told his 139 million followers on Friday that he was “excited” to welcome Ms. Yaccarino, 60, to the role and that he was “looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app.”
Musk said that Ms Yaccarino’s major focus would be on commercial management, while he will continue to be active in product development and innovative technologies.
With Ms Yaccarino’s advertising background, Musk is confident that Twitter can tempt advertisers who abandoned the network after Musk’s takeover, fearing brand harm.
Images and more about her on her Twitter X profile
Linda Yaccarino: A Frontline Leader in Marketing
Ms. Yaccarino started her professional life as an advertising executive after she received her degree from Pennsylvania State University, which is located in the United States of America. She started her professional life by working in a variety of jobs at Turner Broadcasting System Inc., a global broadcasting behemoth that is today owned by Warner Bros.
Between the years 1996 and 2011, she started her professional life working in media sales outlets and eventually rose through the ranks to become executive vice president and chief operating officer. Immediately after that, she became a member of NBCUniversal, which is widely acknowledged as being among the most prosperous media and entertainment companies in the whole globe.
Advertisements and Product Promotions
As chairperson of the firm, she oversaw market strategy and advertising revenue, which totaled more than $10 billion (£8 billion) for the company’s entire portfolio of broadcast, cable, and digital assets. She also handled the merger of NBC and Comcast which culminated in the formation of NBCUniversal.
The mother of two will leave her current role as head of global advertising and partnerships, which she has held for little over two years, according to NBCUniversal. This comment was made just before it was revealed that Twitter would be acquired by another firm.
DiGo’s creator and creative director, Mark DiMassimo, referred to her as “a marketer’s leader.” He went on to remark that she is quite informed about the needs of marketers.
During her twelve years at NBCUniversal, her team generated more than $100 billion (£80 billion) in advertising income, according to corporate documents.
Positively Shifting the Advertising Industry
Linda Yaccarino has been instrumental in bringing about substantial improvements in the advertising industry during her career.
One of the most notable recent advances was the establishment of One Platform, a digital platform that streamlines the process of buying advertising across a broad variety of different media.
According to Dave Campanelli, chief investment officer of Horizon Media, a media buying firm, “I believe that first and foremost, she will bring to Twitter an understanding of what advertisers need to see in order to get back on the platform from the perspective of brand safety.”
According to him, Ms. Yaccarino understands “better than anyone” what it takes to attract advertising and customers to return to the company.
“The question really is, is she going to have free rein to do all that or is it going to be just the same old, same old (with Musk),” he said.
Musk has made it a practice to make light of any issue that may emerge since he started using Twitter. However, Tesla investors are more concerned that he has been devoting an inordinate amount of time to turning around the platform.
Linda Yaccarino Political Advances
Due to the fact that Ms. Yaccarino has previously worked closely with both the administrations of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, her political leanings have been called into question by a few individuals who are opposed to her.
During the year 2018, Ms. Yaccarino was chosen to serve on the Council on Sports Fitness and Nutrition, which is administered by President Trump, for a duration of about two years.
Following that, she held the position of chair of the Ad Council in both 2021 and 2022. During that time, she worked in conjunction with Vice President Biden and the White House to design a vaccine campaign against the coronavirus. This program was effective in reaching more than 200 million individuals in the United States.
As an additional point of interest, Ms. Yaccarino serves as the head of the Taskforce on the Future of Work at the World Economic Forum. She is aiding decision-makers from both the public and private sectors in the process of educating people in economies that are low-carbon and high-technology respectively. This is a pretty complex job description, but in essence, it implies that she is providing assistance to decision-makers.
The New Era for X
Twitter’s new CEO takes over at a time when the firm is experiencing major change. This comes after Musk has been radicalizing Twitter for some months, a substantial amount of which has soured user and advertiser sentiments. When Musk dropped content control, several sponsors reduced or ceased their spending on Twitter adverts. Regaining advertisers’ trust is a huge challenge that must be solved. According to reports, Musk has been under pressure from shareholders at his electric vehicle company Tesla, whose shares have fallen since the Twitter purchase. Musk has said that after the new CEO starts their stint, his role would be that of executive chair and chief technology officer. It is unclear if Yaccarino, or whoever follows Musk, will continue to execute the controversial changes that Musk has made, particularly with material moderation, or whether they will revert to the platform’s former standards.