Elon Musk names NBCUniversal exec as Twitter’s new CEO

New York, May 12 (EFE).- Twitter owner Elon Musk announced Friday that Linda Yaccarino, currently head of global advertising for NBCUniversal Media, will become the company’s chief executive officer.

“I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!” Musk tweeted, adding that she “will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology.”

The Tesla and SpaceX boss said Thursday that he planned to appoint a new CEO, but did disclose the person’s identity.

Yaccarino’s extensive experience in the ad business makes her a good choice to lead Twitter, which has lost billions of dollars in advertising revenue since Musk acquired the platform last October for $44 billion.

The South African-born mogul has dismissed around 75 percent of Twitter’s employees, including senior management, and dialed back content moderation on the platform.

Advocacy groups say that the changes introduced by Musk have resulted in an increase in objectionable speech on Twitter and advertisers wary of controversy have either left the platform entirely or sharply curtailed their ad spending.

In 2021, advertising accounted for nearly 90 percent of Twitter’s revenues.

But in the first quarter of this year, 37 of the 100 largest advertisers on Twitter in the pre-Musk era have placed no ads on the platform, according to market research outfit Sensor Tower, while 24 others have reduced their spending on the platform by upwards of 80 percent.

Musk, the world’s second-richest person, said last month that Twitter could begin to experience positive cash-flow as early as the second quarter of 2023.

Shares of Tesla briefly rose after Musk signaled that he was going to hire a CEO for Twitter, as investors interpreted it as a sign he will turn away from the platform and focus more on the electric car company.

At NBCUniversal, Yaccarino has overseen a staff of 2,000 people responsible for more than $100 million in ad revenue. EFE syr/dr