On Thursday evening, it was reported that NBCUniversal's head of advertising, Linda Yaccarino, is in talks to become the new CEO of Twitter. This comes after Elon Musk announced he had hired a woman for the role but did not name her. Yaccarino currently works as chair of global advertising and partnerships at NBCU and has been with the company for more than a decade.
Musk has not yet revealed the identity of his new CEO but has slashed around 70 percent of Twitter's staff since buying the firm for $44 billion. He has also laid off thousands of the company's workforce in an effort to significantly cut costs and attempted to develop the site's subscription feature as a means of supplementing its advertising revenue. His announcement comes days after Musk denied that he had signed a deal with ex-Fox host Tucker Carlson, who revealed that he planned to relaunch his show on Twitter.
Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal's veteran advertising sales leader, is considered one of the most formidable advertising sales leaders in the industry according to sources speaking with Axios. Her appointment would bring a level of professionalism and experience to Twitter's ad sales efforts that have been lacking since Musk took ownership.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report on these discussions between Yaccarino and Twitter. In addition, she is expected to lead NBCU’s annual upfront presentation next Monday when advertisers gather together in New York City.
If selected as CEO, Yaccarino potentially faces significant challenges revamping both internal culture and external perceptions following layoffs initiated by Musk during his tenure thus far. However, given her extensive background within media ad sales leadership roles spanning over twenty years along with many notable accomplishments under her belt at NBCU make her well-suited candidate poised for success if chosen.