Bantering with Twitter followers late last year, Musk was pessimist about prospects of finding a new CEO, stating that person “must like pain a lot” to run a company that “has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy.”
“No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor,” Musk tweeted at the time.
But Musk has ultimately found a successor.
After many months of speculations and memefest by the internet, Twitter finally appoints its new CEO, Linda Yaccarino on May 12, 2023. Owner Elon Musk’s handling of the social media platform has created waves over the past months, revealed Linda Yaccarino, a 60-year-old NBC Universal (NBCU) veteran, as the new Twitter CEO.
I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!@LindaYacc 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. https://t.co/TiSJtTWuky
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 12, 2023
She has her task cut out as she looks to restore trust with marketers to bring them back to Twitter as well as lure new advertisers to the platform.
Yaccarino is a seasoned advertising executive who joins at a crucial time as the micro-blogging platform navigates a chaotic period of change in its product and business brought in by Musk.
Luring advertisers is critical for Musk, as in November 2022, Musk claimed that Twitter has witnessed a massive drop in revenue due to skittish advertisers paused spending on the social media platform after his takeover of the social media platform, fearing harm to their brands in the ensuing chaos. Though later he also said Twitter was “roughly break-even” and would likely be cash flow positive this quarter, but provided no details.
According to Mike Proulx, a vice president and research director at Forrester: Advertising is not the only challenge that Twitter’s new CEO will face, after all, Musk has “fundamentally altered” Twitter both as a product and a community, arguably “for the worse.”
But as stated after many months of speculation, he appointed Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter.
Who is Linda Yaccarino and what made Musk bet on the advertising executive to make her the CEO of Twitter
Yaccarino is nicknamed as “velvet hammer” give her tough negotiation tactics, will have her task fairly clear; to restore trust with marketers, to bring them back to Twitter as well as lure new advertisers amid signs of a potential rebound in the digital ad market.
Yaccarino had served around two decades at Turner Entertainment and has been credited with dragging the network’s ad sales operation into the digital future.
Last month, Yaccarino interviewed Musk at an ad conference in Miami. Yaccarino encouraged the audience to welcome Musk and lauded his work ethic.
Musk, who bought Twitter last fall and has been at the front of things since. Few expect Musk to remove himself from the decision making process at Twitter, however.
“While he’s stepping back from the CEO title, Musk is far from likely to step back from calling the product shots,” said Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester Research.
Yaccarino, with deep roots in the advertising industry, could be a linchpin in Twitter’s future.
If anyone can translate the Musk vision into advantages for marketers she’ll be able to do it,” DiMassimo said on Friday, prior to Musk’s confirmation. “Even though there’s skepticism and all marketers live in the ‘show me’ state right now with regard to Twitter, if in fact she does go to Twitter this is a powerfully reassuring move.”
According to LinkedIn, “Yaccarino previously served as NBC’s chair for advertising and client partnerships and as president of cable entertainment and digital advertising sales. Prior to her time with NBC, Yaccarino worked at global entertainment company Turner for almost two decades”.
Linda Yaccarino task as the new CEO of twitter is clearly cut out given that Musk’s occupancy at Twitter’s helm has been chaotic. With numerous changes along with Musk’s own penchant for spreading misleading information and engaging with various conspiracy theorists has soured many advertisers on the platform. And regaining advertisers’ trust will be the most important task and that would require stabilizing Twitter and ensuring that key product decisions are made thoughtfully and deliberately and not, as Musk has often done, on the spur of the moment, inspired by a fan’s tweet or just a passing thought.
Industry insiders describe Yaccarino as a marketer’s leader with key advertising expertise, but if she’s to succeed on the business side, she will need Musk’s buy in on the product side.
Others have also questioned Yaccarino’s political leanings.
Delving through the background of Linda Yaccarino can help in understanding who the new Twitter CEO is and what makes her tick.
Yaccarino grew up with her parents in Long Island, New York. She is of Italian descent. She graduated from Penn State University having studied liberal arts and telecommunications.
She has joined the list of the few female tech CEO in world:
Yaccarino will join the very small list of female chief executive at the top of a major technology firm, joining the ranks of YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, who stepped down in February 2023, Oracle’s Safra Catz and AMD’s Lisa Su.
Turner Entertainment:
Yaccarino spent almost two decades at Turner Entertainment, becoming the executive vice president and chief operating officer for advertising sales, marketing and acquisitions.
NBCUniversal:
She joined NBCUniversal in 2011 as president, cable entertainment and digital advertising sales. She was promoted as the company’s chairman of advertising and client partnerships in late 2012 and then chairman of global advertising and partnerships in October 2020.
Ad-supported streaming platform partnership:
Yaccarino and her team played a significant part in the launch of Peacock, NBCU’s ad-supported streaming platform and has been adoptive to new ways of measuring advertising performance, as well as shaping partnerships with platforms like, Apple News, Buzzfeed, YouTube, Snapchat along with twitter, as per her profile.
Generating Ad sales of over $100 billion:
Yaccarino and her team generated more than $100 billion in ad sales, help expanding the company’s reach globally and made colossal investments in data and technology capabilities, as per NBCU.
Partnering with government on many occasions:
She helped in promoting healthy lifestyles as a member of the President’s Council on Sports Fitness and Nutrition, during President Donald Trump’s tenure. Yaccarino was appointed as the chair of the non-profit Ad Council’s board of directors in January 2021 till June 30, 2022. During this stint she has also worked with Biden administration to create a coronavirus vaccine campaign in 2021 that featured Pope Francis.
Yaccarino also pushed for the television industry to improve the viewing experience and embrace digital viewing.
First advertising chief to develop a unified tech-enabled trading system:
She is the first ad chief to develop a unified advertising technology, data, and measurement, One Platform, which made it simpler for advertisers to buy ads across both television and digital advertising mediums, as per NBCU. According to them, One Platform reaches around 227 million Americans and around 1 billion adults globally per month across all mediums.
Other companies:
She is the chairperson for World Economic Forum’s task force on the future of work and sits on its Media, Entertainment and Culture Industry Governors Steering Committee. From January 2016 to January 2020, Yaccarino served as an independent director on the board of directors of Ascena retail group, women’s clothing.
Conclusion:
Can the new Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino get back the twitter its glory, at least Elon Musk is very hopeful about the future of twitter with Yaccarino by his side.
