Hours after Twitter owner Elon Musk announced that he would be vacating the CEO position and hiring a full-time replacement, a report from the Wall Street Journal named NBCUniversal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino as the leading candidate.
“Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!” Musk announced in a tweet Thursday without listing a name. Hours later, the WSJ reported that Yaccarino is in active discussions to take on the role.
Yaccarino, who is currently the chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, has been with NBC for over a decade. As head of advertising for NBXU, she played a key role in the launch of the company’s ad-supported streaming service Peacock.
BREAKING: Linda Yaccarino is in talks to become the new CEO of Twitter, according to people familiar with the situation.
– WSJ pic.twitter.com/KToHRCamos
— T(w)itter Daily News (@TitterDaily) May 11, 2023
WSJ reporting that NBCUniversal's Linda Yaccarino is in talks to become the new Twitter CEO. pic.twitter.com/boTlA5ICZf
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 11, 2023
Twitter and NBCUniversal recently agreed to an expanded partnership for NBCU to amplify its coverage of the 2023 Olympic Games. Yaccarino also interviewed Musk in-person at the Possible 2023 marketing event in Miami.
Musk, who has served as CEO since buying the company in October, announced that his role would be shifting towards executive chairman and chief technology officer, where he intends to focus on product updates.
The move comes as Twitter is set to roll out a number of new features, including encrypted messaging and video calling, as Musk moves the company towards becoming an “everything” or “super” app, which he has branded as X. Such apps have gained widespread popularity in Asia, though the concept has yet to catch on in the United States, some
Musk changed Twitter’s incorporated name to X Corp last month.
This is still a developing story, stay tuned for more….