Musk’s Reported Twitter CEO Pick Linda Yaccarino Leaves NBCUniversal

Topline

NBCUniversal announced Friday the departure of its head of advertising and partnerships, Linda Yaccarino, amid reports she is Elon Musk’s choice to take over as Twitter’s CEO.

Key Facts

Key Background

A 1985 graduate of Penn State, Yaccarino is also a high-ranking member of the World Economic Forum, the organization best-known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland which brings together some of the richest and most influential people on earth. Yaccarino will contend with a shrinking valuation for Twitter, which reportedly now estimates itself to be worth $20 billion, less than half of the $44 billion price tag Musk bought the company for last year. Dragging down Twitter’s valuation is its crumbling relationship with a glut of advertising partners thanks to a variety of changes to the platform, including the removal of free verification badges and a rollback of most content moderation policies. Twitter suffered a “massive decline” in advertising revenue while Musk has been at the helm, the billionaire said in March. Ad sales accounted for 92% of Twitter’s total revenues in 2022’s second quarter, the last period for which the company’s financials are publicly available.

Crucial Quote

Yaccarino is a “home run hire” for Twitter thanks to her extensive advertising experience, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives as the company fights to regain the crucial ad dollars it’s reportedly lost under Musk.

Big Number

4%. That’s how much shares of Tesla have rallied since Musk tweeted Thursday afternoon he found a replacement to become Twitter’s CEO, adding about $15 billion in market value.

Further Reading

Who Is Linda Yaccarino? The Ad Executive Elon Musk Has Reportedly Chosen To Succeed Him As Twitter CEO (Forbes)

Here’s How Much Tesla Stock Could Gain As Musk Steps Down As Twitter CEO (Forbes)