Elon Musk Taps NBCU's Linda Yaccarino As Twitter CEO

Elon Musk has hired Linda Yaccarino, an executive at NBC Universal, to replace him as the new CEO of Twitter.

Musk confirmed the hire Friday in a tweet, saying Yaccarino would “focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology.”

Yaccarino served as chair of global advertising and partnerships at the media company, overseeing a staff of thousands and about $13 billion in annual ad revenue, according to The Wall Street Journal, the first to report the news. She’s been described as having a strong relationship with advertisers and marketing groups, which could help quell the ongoing concerns companies have with Twitter following Musk’s takeover.

NBC Universal said Yaccarino’s departure was effective immediately.

Musk joined Yaccarino onstage last month at a marketing conference in Florida and the pair have been in discussions for several weeks.

Musk said in March that Twitter had seen a 50 percent drop in ad revenue after he bought the company for $44 billion last year, although he claimed to the BBC last month much of the business has returned and the company is “roughly breaking even.”

Yaccarino, who has been at NBC for more than a decade, has been a key figure in the network’s deals around major events including the Super Bowl and the Olympics. She was also an important figure as the company delved into the streaming era, The New York Times reported. She’s currently in rehearsals for NBC Universal’s upfront, the company’s annual pitch to advertisers.

Her hire would usher in a new era at Twitter, which has been in a period of upheaval. Musk has overseen months of mass layoffs, resignations and fleeing advertisers, as well as an overhaul of the site’s verified checkmark system.

He pledged to step down from Twitter last year after posting a poll on the site, saying he would appoint someone to fill his shoes once he found someone “foolish enough to take the job.”

Musk said earlier Thursday he had hired a new CEO and that she would start in about six weeks, although he didn’t name the person. He said he would transition into a role as executive chairman and chief technology officer, overseeing the company’s product, software and system operations teams.

This story has been updated to note Yaccarino’s departure from NBC Universal.

Liza Hearon contributed to this article.

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