Elon Musk, on Thursday, declared that he has found a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Twitter. He added that the new Twitter CEO will start in six weeks. Musk will then move to the position of Executive Chairman and Chief Technology Officer (CEO). Though the billionaire did not reveal the identity of the new Twitter CEO, a Wall Street Journal report has claimed that Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal’s head of advertising, is in talks for the position.
As the speculation around Linda Yaccarino becoming the new Twitter CEO grows, here is what we know about her.
Linda Yaccarino studied liberal arts and telecommunications at Penn University from 1981-84. She spent over 19 years at Turner Entertainment, where she was the Executive Vice President and COO of Advertising Sales and Marketing and Acquisitions
After her stint at Turner, Linda Yaccarino joined NBCUniversal as the President, Cable Entertainment and Digital Advertising Sales, in 2011. A year later, she was promoted to Chairman, Advertising and Client Partnerships. The executive also helped launch NBCUniversal’s ad-supported streaming service – Peacock.
Yaccarino is credited with transforming NBCUniversal’s advertising network. According to the Wall Street Journal, she oversees roughly $13 billion in annual ad revenue. Linda Yaccarino has close relationships with ad agencies and marketers. She is said to be tough in negotiations, with some media buyers calling her “the velvet hammer,” reported WSJ.
The NBCU executive has been the recipient of several honours. She was named as one of the “Ten Most Powerful Women in TV” by Adweek in 2011. Yaccarino was listed in the “Top 10 People Transforming Advertising” by Business Insider.
Yaccarino had interviewed Elon Musk in Miami last year at an advertising conference. She had praised his work ethic in the conversation and asked the Tesla CEO about his vision for Twitter.
The announcement came days before NBCUniversal’s annual pitch event for advertisers, which is scheduled for Monday. The event is one of the most important functions for the company.
The potential departure of Linda Yaccarino could hit NBCUniversal hard. It will be the second high-profile departure from the entertainment company in a month. In April, Jeff Shell departed from the company after he admitted to “inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company.” The confession came after a complaint led to a probe in the matter.
If Yaccarino does take up the mantle of Twitter CEO, she would be facing a set of unique challenges. Since Musk’s takeover of the company last year, Twitter has lost a lot of advertisers. Before the micro-blogging platform was bought by Musk, advertisers comprised almost 90 percent of its revenue.
Market-intelligence firm Sensor Tower reported that out of the 100 advertisers on Twitter before Musk took over the platform, 37 spent nothing on marketing in the first quarter of this year. Apart from that, 24 brands reduced their average monthly spending on Twitter advertisements by 80 percent or more.
The decision to bring in Linda Yaccarino is part of Musk’s strategy to boost Twitter’s revenue and make it profitable. The billionaire had claimed earlier that Twitter could reach positive cash flow in this quarter.
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