Linda Yaccarino might be the new CEO of Twitter, but it would not be an easy ride for her
Elon Musk tweeted that he has finally found a 'woman to lead' Twitter, and reports say Linda Yaccarino is that woman. Photo: dailyO
Looks like Twitter's boss has finally heard what the public wants and is stepping down from his role as CEO of the company. If reports and rumours are to be believed, Linda Yaccarino, the current Chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, will be the next CEO of the social media company.
Elon Musk tweeted that he has that he has finally found a 'woman to lead' Twitter and that she will start in her new job in six weeks
Musk appears to be employing the tried-and-tested Silicon Valley approach by potentially appointing Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter. This strategy involves tech industry leaders hiring insiders to oversee the operational aspects of their company, allowing them to concentrate on engineering and product development.
A similar formula was adopted by Google's founders when they brought on Eric Schmidt, and Mark Zuckerberg followed suit at Facebook, appointing former COO Sheryl Sandberg to handle the business side while he focused on product innovation.
Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2023
My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.
Here's what we know about Yaccarinco:
- Linda Yaccarino has been an integral part of NBC Universal since 2011, as evidenced by her LinkedIn profile. Currently, she holds the position of Chairperson for Global Advertising and Partnerships. In addition, she has previously served in key roles within the company, including overseeing the cable entertainment and digital advertising sales division.
- Yaccarino boasts an impressive tenure at Turner, where she spent 19 years contributing her expertise. Her final role at Turner was Executive Vice President/COO of Advertising Sales, Marketing, and Acquisitions.
- Yaccarino pursued her education at Penn State University, where she focused on liberal arts and telecommunications. She is an esteemed alumna of the institution.
- Yaccarino has gained recognition as an industry advocate for exploring improved methods of measuring advertising effectiveness. The Wall Street Journal has reported on her efforts in this regard, showcasing her commitment to advancing advertising practices.
Now if the reports are right and Yaccarico becomes the CEO, or if someone else also becomes the CEO, they have to deal with quite a mess that Musk is leaving behind.
- Till now, he has fired more than 80% of his staff, which Musk has confirmed himself. Whoever the new CEO of Twitter is, they have to make sure that the company runs effectively, because users have also complained about Twitter going down time and again.
- Not only the engineers, but Musk also fired the human rights group which was working for Twitter. Since the micro-blogging app has a lot of potential of making up the politics of any country, the new CEO would be expected to handle the chaos for human rights on Twitter.
- Hopefully, she also solves the issue of blue ticks and now so many other ticks and paying money for Twitter's services.
- Another set of problems that the new CEO will face will be the new competitors that are coming up as a replacement for Twitter like Koo in India, and BlueSky by Jack Dorsey which is claimed to be 80% similar to Twitter.
- Meanwhile, the future of Twitter seems uncertain as the platform continues to face multiple challenges, including a rise in service interruptions and glitches, the departure of prominent news organizations, and indications of a decline in user engagement.
Now let's talk money. Ever since Musk's takeover, the company is not doing well:
- Elon Musk reportedly told employees in an email in March that the company is now valued at $20 billion, less than half of the $44 billion he paid to purchase the company last year.
- Another report in March 2023 forecast from Insider Intelligence suggests Twitter will bring in roughly $2.9 billion in ad revenue for 2023, after initially forecasting in October 2022 that it would earn $4.74 billion.