The identity of the individual was not disclosed by the current owner, who only mentioned that she would commence her role in six weeks
Elon Musk has successfully identified his successor for the position of Twitter’s chief executive and has revealed that she will commence her role on the social media platform in approximately six weeks.
In December, the owner and CEO of Twitter announced his intention to step down once he found someone willing to accept the position, stating that the person would need to be “foolish enough to take the job.” On Thursday, Musk announced through a tweet that the search was finally over, expressing his excitement and sharing the news that he had hired a new CEO for X/Twitter, who would begin her tenure in approximately six weeks.
According to the Wall Street Journal, discussions are underway for Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal’s global head of advertising, to assume the position of CEO. Yaccarino, who has been with NBCUniversal for nearly 12 years, is affiliated with the entertainment conglomerate responsible for the NBC TV network and the Universal film studio.
Nevertheless, Musk made it clear in his tweet that he intends to maintain an active involvement in a company he acquired for $44 billion (£35 billion) in October of last year. He specified that he will assume the position of executive chair at Twitter and will be entrusted with various responsibilities, including overseeing the platform’s IT infrastructure.
In the tweet where he announced the new CEO, Musk stated, “My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.
Last month, Yaccarino had the opportunity to interview Musk on stage during a conference in Miami. During the interview, she raised the issue of certain advertisers having concerns about Musk’s viewpoints. In response, Musk acknowledged that some of his tweets should be interpreted with skepticism, suggesting that they should be taken with a “grain of salt.” Yaccarino also expressed her agreement with the importance of freedom of speech, stating, “If freedom of speech, as he says, is the bedrock of this country, I’m not sure there’s anyone in this room who could disagree with that.”
In April, Yaccarino shared a video clip on Twitter from an interview between Musk and comedian Bill Maher on the HBO show Real Time Bill Maher. In her tweet, she tagged Musk with an “on fire” emoji. In the clip, Maher questioned Musk about the concept of the “woke mind virus,” prompting Musk to emphasize the need for caution when it comes to anything that goes against meritocracy and leads to the suppression of free speech.
Musk, whose tenure as CEO has been marked by controversy, informed a Delaware court in November that he anticipated reducing his involvement with Twitter and eventually appointing a new leader to oversee the social media company. He reaffirmed this plan in December with a tweet, stating, “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job.”
Recently, it was revealed that Twitter had been integrated into a newly established entity called X Corp, which Musk mentioned in his Thursday tweet. Musk has referred to Twitter as an “accelerant” in the creation of X, which he envisions as his comprehensive “everything app” comparable to WeChat in China.
Immediately after completing the takeover, Musk assumed the role of CEO and promptly terminated several key executives, including the then CEO, Parag Agrawal. Within days, he downsized Twitter’s workforce, reducing it by almost half from its original count of 7,500 employees. Currently, the staff level stands at approximately 1,500 individuals.
Musk’s unwavering commitment to free speech, as a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” has generated controversy and clashed with advertisers, who constitute Twitter’s primary source of revenue. Under the ownership of Twitter, previously banned accounts, such as those belonging to Donald Trump and the misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate, have been reinstated.
In March, reports surfaced indicating that the value of the company had declined to less than half of Musk’s acquisition price from last autumn. Musk stated last month that Twitter, which took on $13 billion in borrowings as part of his takeover financing, was “roughly breaking even” by offsetting the revenue decline through aggressive cost-cutting measures.
The potential appointment of a new CEO for Twitter could alleviate concerns among Tesla investors who have become increasingly worried about the amount of time Musk is dedicating to the turnaround of Twitter. As the news broke, Tesla shares experienced a 2.4% surge in trading volume.
“The burden of Twitter, which was like an anchor tied to Musk, has now been released. He can now focus on creating more value at Tesla,” remarked Craig Irwin, an analyst at the US financial services firm Roth MKM.
