Global Courant 2023-05-12 06:44:19
Elon Musk said Thursday he has found a new CEO for Twitter but did not name the person, while the Wall Street Journal reported that Comcast NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino was in talks for the job.
Musk said in a tweet, “Excited to announce I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She starts in ~6 weeks!”
He said he will move to the role of chief technology officer of the social media platform in a few weeks.
Musk took over as CEO of Twitter when he completed his $44 billion purchase of the company in the US in October, then said in December that he would step down as CEO once he found “someone foolish enough to take the job.” to take”. He said he would then lead Twitter’s software and server teams.
The Wall Street Journal quoted people familiar with the situation as saying that Yaccarino was in talks for the top post.
Reuters reported after Musk’s tweet that Yaccarino could be his choice to lead Twitter, according to a Silicon Valley executive and a former Hollywood executive who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Happy to announce that I hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She starts in ~6 weeks!
My role will transition to exec chair & CTO, oversee product, software & sysops.
Yaccarino, the top ad salesperson at NBCUniversal, interviewed Musk at an advertising conference in Miami last month. Yaccarino did not respond to calls for comment.
When asked for comment, an NBCUniversal spokesperson said, “Linda is rehearsing back-to-back for the Upfront,” referring to a presentation NBCUniversal will be giving to advertisers in New York on Monday.
Musk has not named any candidates yet
If Yaccarino were to leave, it would be another major blow to the company. Comcast said last month that NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell would leave after admitting an inappropriate relationship with a woman at the company, following a complaint that prompted an investigation.
Musk did not name potential candidates for the top Twitter job. There was plenty of speculation on Thursday among tech and media insiders and on Blind, an anonymous messaging app for tech workers.
Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer was suggested Thursday in conversations between Twitter employees, an employee said.
Musk has come under fire from investors in his Tesla electric car company for being distracted by his attention to Twitter. (Susan Walsh/The Associated Press)
Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and a top executive at Musk’s brain-chip startup Neuralink, Shivon Zilis, were also among the names discussed by Twitter employees on Blind, according to a former employee who reviewed the comments.
Jason Benowitz, senior portfolio manager at CI Roosevelt, said top female executives from Musk’s other companies, such as SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell and Tesla Inc chairman Robyn Denholm, could also be mentioned.
‘The anchor is loose’
Musk, who has come under fire from investors in his Tesla electric car company for being distracted by his attention to Twitter, said he will move to the role of executive chairman along with the role of chief technology officer, which oversees products, software and sysops.
His message about a new Twitter CEO came about 15 minutes before Wall Street’s close on Thursday, and Tesla shares closed two percent higher. The stock rose 1.6 percent in aftermarket trading.
“The boat anchor called Twitter has been detached from Musk’s ankle. Now he can spend more time creating value at Tesla,” said Craig Irwin, an analyst at Roth MKM.
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Musk has long said he intended to find a new leader for Twitter.
In a Twitter poll Musk started in December, 57.5 percent of users voted for him to step down as CEO of the social media platform.
The billionaire’s first two weeks as owner of Twitter in October were marked by rapid changes. He quickly fired Twitter’s previous CEO, Parag Agrawal, and other senior leaders, then laid off half the staff in November.
Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech man,” has said he took over Twitter to prevent the platform from becoming an echo chamber of hatred and division. He also said he would “beat” spam bots on the platform, a key part of his battle with Twitter’s board over his back-and-forth over the company’s acquisition.
He said last month that Twitter was “about to break even.”
