Linda Yaccarino is the next CEO of Twitter, according to people close to the situation, who confirmed that she did accept the position.
On Thursday, Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted that he was ready to hand the top job to a person he had not yet named. Immediately after that announcement, sources told Automotive News sister publication Ad Age that it was Yaccarino, chairman of NBCUniversal’s advertising and partnerships group. On Friday, a person with direct knowledge of the move said that it was official.
That came after NBCU announced that Yaccarino was leaving the company, without saying where she was headed. Mark Marshall, NBCU’s president, advertising sales and client partnerships, is now in Yaccarino’s former position as interim chairman of advertising and partnerships, NBCU said.
Twitter declined to comment.
Yaccarino is coming to Twitter as a fixer for its advertising problems, bringing deep connections with brands from her decades in TV ad sales. Musk has had trouble keeping advertisers on board since he completely rearranged the platform in ways that stunned longtime marketing partners. Musk announced on Thursday that he would still very much be involved in the running of Twitter, under the title of chief technology officer and, of course, he still owns the company. Musk said Thursday that the new CEO would join within the next six weeks.
Yaccarino is the “yin” to Musk’s “yang,” said the person with direct insights into the dynamic between the two. For Yaccarino, “she immediately walks in with all these relationships,” this person said. It’s a “calming” move for advertisers, the person said. Meanwhile, Musk continues to be able to tinker with Twitter’s operations as he sees fit, as he has always wanted, this person said.
