Twitter may soon see a change in leadership as Elon Musk looks to put an experienced ad sales veteran in charge of the platform following months of advertiser attrition. Reports suggest that Linda Yaccarino, longtime media executive, will become the new CEO of Twitter, having stepped down from her position as the chairman of NBCUniversal’s global advertising and partnerships. Yaccarino has returned to NBCUniversal after spending over 11 years there earlier in her career and working in a senior role at Turner Broadcasting. At NBCUniversal, she leads a global team of 2,000 members and has overseen the generation of $100 billion in ad sales since joining in 2011, partnering with various emerging media outlets, including Twitter, BuzzFeed, Apple News and YouTube.
Twitter’s relationship with advertisers has deteriorated since Musk’s acquisition of the platform in October 2020, with ad sales accounting for over 90% of the company’s revenue. The lack of success in revenue generation and Musk’s controversial policy decisions have caused many advertisers to exit the platform, causing a significant drop in monthly revenue from the top 1,000 advertisers and leading to concerns about Twitter’s new direction. Musk has tried to boost revenue through a subscription business but has had limited success. Restoring Twitter’s relationship with advertisers is essential for the company’s future and Musk may focus on ad relevance to do so. Yaccarino’s appointment as CEO may signal Musk’s recognition of the limits of his previous efforts and his desire to strengthen Twitter’s advertising business.