Linda Yaccarino likely to replace Elon Musk as new Twitter CEO

Elon Musk has announced he will resign as Twitter CEO, sparking intense speculation about who will replace him.

Elon Musk is saying goodbye to being Twitter’s CEO and will instead take a back seat. Picture: AFP

Elon Musk revealed back in December 2022 that he wasn’t intending to remain as CEO of Twitter. He started a poll on Twitter asking whether he should “step down as head of Twitter” — and more than half of the 17.5 million people who voted gave him his marching orders.

He responded by saying he would resign once “someone foolish enough to take the job” could be found.

Mr Musk, the world’s second richest person with a net worth of about $264 billion (US$177.2 billion), this morning confirmed that a new CEO had been found.

“Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter,” he wrote.

“She will be starting in ~6 weeks!

“My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO [chief technology officer], overseeing product, software & sysops [system operator],” he wrote on Twitter.

Elon Musk is saying goodbye to being Twitter’s CEO and will instead take a back seat. Picture: AFP

Speculation is rife as to who that woman is, and a report by the Wall Street Journal indicates it is likely to be Linda Yaccarino, the current chairman of global advertising and partnerships at entertainment company NBCUniversal Media.

People familiar with this situation told the Journal that Ms Yaccarino was in talks to become the new CEO of Twitter.

Ms Yaccarino’s vast experience in the advertising world is likely one of the reasons Mr Musk has headhunted her.

She has worked as NBCU’s head of advertising sales and helped launch the ad-supported Peacock streaming service.

Linda Yaccarino has vast experience in the advertising world. Picture: Getty Images

She has also advocated more effective ways of advertising in the media industry.

That’s exactly the type of person that Twitter Inc — which merged with the shell company X Corp — needs to revive its flagging fortunes.

In November last year Mr Musk confirmed a “massive drop in revenue” for Twitter, which he blamed on activist groups pressuring advertisers who have targeted the company over fears about reduced content moderation.

Twitter makes about 90 per cent of its income from advertising, and it has dropped by an estimated 40 per cent. Mr Musk has tried to pivot to a subscriber-based model with the introduction of the controversial blue tick verification that costs $11.80 ($US8) per month.

Organisations can be verified for the hefty price of $1000 a month — something that many have shied away from, although Mr Musk has hinted that it may be a cheaper plan available.

More recently, Twitter released its first version of encrypted DMs, which is only available to verified users.

Twitter has been on a wild ride since the mercurial Elon Musk took over the company. Picture: AFP

There are also reports Mr Musk wishes to implement e-commerce or payments on Twitter at some stage.

Ms Yaccarino, who reportedly has a strong relationship with marketing and advertising agencies, will need to bring back advertisers.

She will face difficult challenges, with some reports stating that Twitter’s revenue “shockingly imploded” following Mr Musk’s $68 billion (US$44 billion) takeover of the social media company.

Mr Musk’s mass-firing spree has reduced costs, but the billionaire nonetheless has warned the company could go bankrupt. However, he stated in April that the company will likely be cashflow positive this quarter, the Journal reports.

One of the driving forces behind Mr Musk’s takeover of Twitter was his vision of “free speech”.

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” he said in April last year.

Ms Yaccarino appears to share that vision, as revealed by comments she made during an onstage interview with Mr Musk in Miami Beach.

“Elon has committed to being accessible to everyone for continual feedback,” she said, the Journal reported.

She later added: “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.”

The appointment of a new CEO at Twitter will likely be positively-received by Tesla shareholders, some of whom have expressed concern that Mr Musk had “abandoned Tesla”.

Mr Musk was handed a US$56 billion pay package in 2018 to run Tesla, the largest in American corporate history and there was concern he was focusing on Twitter to the detriment of Tesla.

A lawsuit by Tesla shareholders regarding the compensation package wrapped up on November 18 last year.

Originally published as Linda Yaccarino likely to replace Elon Musk as new Twitter CEO