Elon Musk Names Linda Yaccarino As Twitter CEO – NBCUniversal has announced that Linda Yaccarino, who has been in charge of their advertising sales for a long time, will leave the company immediately, causing a major upheaval just a few days before the television upfronts. Yaccarino will now be taking on the role of CEO at Twitter, a social media platform, as announced by Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, on Friday.
Yaccarino “will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology,” Musk tweeted. “Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app.” Mark Marshall has been promoted to interim chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal following Linda Yaccarino’s departure. However, he will now report to Mark Lazarus, the chairman of NBCUniversal television and streaming, instead of Comcast president Mike Cavanagh, who was Yaccarino’s recent superior.
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Following the termination of CEO Jeff Shell last month, NBCUniversal’s new organizational structure will now see an expansion of Mark Lazarus’ influence within the company. While Comcast President Mike Cavanagh will continue to oversee the company, Lazarus will take on a more significant role in the absence of a dedicated CEO. Linda Yaccarino was expected to lead NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall on Monday morning.
However, a spokesperson for the company stated that she was in “back to back rehearsals” for the event and could not be reached for comment. With Yaccarino’s departure, NBCU will need to adjust its plans once again. “It has been an absolute honor to be part of Comcast NBCUniversal and lead the most incredible team,” Yaccarino said in a statement. “We’ve transformed our company and the entire industry — and I am so proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and grateful to my colleagues and mentors, especially Brian Roberts, Mike Cavanagh and the entire NBCU leadership team.”
Musk acquired Twitter last year for $44 billion. He tweeted Thursday that he had hired a new CEO who would start this summer, though he did not name her in his tweet. Musk was interviewed by Yaccarino at an advertising industry event last month, and last week Twitter announced a new 2024 Olympics content deal with NBCU. However, Twitter’s revenue has collapsed since the takeover, with many advertisers spooked about brand safety on the platform, and with Musk so far unsuccessfully pursuing a more aggressive subscription strategy.
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It will now fall on Yaccarino to figure out how Twitter moves forward with its business. “We are grateful for Linda Yaccarino’s leadership of NBCUniversal’s Advertising Sales business, and for the innovative team and platform she has built,” Cavanagh added in a statement. “Linda has made countless contributions to the company during her twelve year tenure, and we wish her the best.”
