New York (EFE).- The owner of Twitter, Elon Musk, announced that Linda Yaccarino will be the new executive director of the network and that she will “focus mainly on business operations”, while he will focus “on the design of products and new technologies of the social network”.
Musk, who took over as CEO after the social network’s purchase last year, said in a tweet today that he is “thrilled to welcome Linda Yaccarino” into her new role; Shortly before, Yaccarino had announced that she was leaving her position as head of publicity for NBCUniversal.
His ad profile could serve to assuage fears, as Musk’s constant sweeping changes to Twitter’s policies have created mistrust and sent advertisers fleeing.
Who is Linda Yaccarino?
Yaccarino, NBCU’s president of global advertising and partnerships, has worked at NBCU for more than a decade and as NBCU’s head of advertising sales, was instrumental in launching the company’s ad-supported streaming service Peacock, according to The Wall Street. Journal (WSJ).
The media also points out that Yaccarino’s nickname is: “velvet hammer”, due to his harsh negotiation tactics.
Last month, at a conference in Miami Beach, Yaccarino interviewed Musk and asked him about his vision for Twitter.
In 2021, the year before Musk took over the social network and took it private, advertising accounted for nearly 90% of the company’s revenue.
But then things changed dramatically: Of the top 100 advertisers on Twitter before Musk bought the company, 37 spent nothing on network advertising in the first quarter of this year, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, while that 24 other brands reduced their average monthly ad spend on Twitter by 80% or more.
In April, Musk said that Twitter could be cash flow positive as early as this quarter.
Musk’s actions on Twitter
After buying Twitter for $44 billion, Musk fired several of the company’s top leaders, including CEO Parag Agrawal, legal counsel and chief financial officer.
Last December, Musk floated the idea of appointing someone to take over the day-to-day management of the social media platform, and in a 12-hour survey the billionaire posted on his Twitter account, 57% of respondents he said he should resign as CEO.
He didn’t then, however, settling the issue with a quip: “I’ll resign as CEO as soon as I find someone crazy enough to take that job!” he said.
Today, the news that Musk is stepping down from his Twitter responsibilities was celebrated among investors, as after his tweet about the search for a new CEO for Twitter, shares of Tesla (another of the companies owned by Musk ) shot up and closed up 2%.