Elon Musk has tapped Linda Yaccarino, until this week head of advertising at NBCUniversal, to succeed him as CEO of Twitter, he announced in a press release tweet Friday.
“@LindaYacc will primarily focus on business operations while I focus on product design and new technologies,” the tweet reads in part.
The announcement came after the billionaire tweeted on Thursday that he had found a new person to lead the social media platform, adding, “She’ll start in about six weeks!” Musk, who announced a Closed deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion will join Twitter as CEO and chief technology officer.
NBCUniversal also announced Friday that Yaccarino is leaving the company, effective immediately.
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“We are grateful to Linda Yaccarino for leading NBCUniversal’s advertising distribution business and for the innovative team and platform she has built,” Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said in a statement. “Linda has made countless contributions to the company during her 12-year tenure and we wish her well.”
“It has been an absolute honor to be a part of Comcast NBCUniversal and to lead the most incredible team. We’ve transformed our company and the entire industry – and I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished together and grateful to my colleagues and mentors, particularly Brian Roberts, Mike Cavanagh and the entire NBCU leadership team,” said Yaccarino.
what is her background
Yaccarino, a Penn State University graduate, served as the chair of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal and, according to her LinkedIn profile, acted as the “strategic and operational bridge across NBCUniversal’s global networks, properties and business units.” . Her responsibilities included the monetization of corporate networks, digital and streaming platforms, sales and retail partnerships, and customer relationships. This included overseeing all global, national and local ad sales.
Linda Yaccarino speaks at the Variety Entertainment Summit at CES in Las Vegas, January 8, 2020. Isaac Brekken/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images
She led a 2,000-strong team that has generated more than $100 billion in advertising sales since joining NBCU in 2011. She also helped launch the company’s ad-supported streaming service, Peacock.
Her LinkedIn profile also reveals that she has “made massive investments in data and technology capabilities.”
In the interpersonal area, she describes herself as a “sought-after mediator, employee and consultant” and as a “committed change agent and consummate uniter” in her industry.
As chair of the Ad Council, a nonprofit organization that promotes public service, she received support from various organizations, including the White House, to design a vaccination campaign with Pope Francis that reached more than 200 million Americans.
Before joining NBC, Yaccarino spent nearly two decades at global entertainment company Turner.
Is she the right person to run Twitter?
Yaccarino interviewed Musk at a marketing conference in Miami last month. “Today is, in many ways, your introduction to advertising,” Yaccarino said after welcoming him onto the stage.
“I’m proud of my work ethic. But dude, I found my match,” she told the CEO of Space X, Tesla and Twitter. She then spoke about “the delicate balance challenge of rebranding” a well-known and widely used product like Twitter.
One Wall Street analyst said Yaccarino would be an “easy hire” for Twitter because of her extensive experience monitoring billions of dollars in advertising revenue each year.
It would “fit very well with Twitter’s future overall strategy and monetization,” said Wedbush technology analyst Dan Ives.
Her experience launching new revenue streams for NBCU, including Peacock, and her in-depth knowledge of how to monetize products and services make her an excellent choice to lead Twitter, Ives added.
It’s vital that Twitter overhauls its digital advertising strategy while also monetizing its user base after major advertiser exits since Elon Musk’s takeover.
“Twitter faces a major challenge in the digital advertising space as the platform must now win back advertisers while also monetizing its user base,” Ives said. “Twitter needs a CEO who can hit the ground running and try to transform the Twitter platform within six to 12 months.”
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