Elon Musk says he has found a new Twitter CEO and that “she” will start in a few weeks. It will most likely be Linda Iaccarino, the current head of advertising and partnerships for NBCUniversal.
However, I do know that Iaccarino has been looking for the job and has been telling friends that she wants it. The advertising world is certainly gossiping that it is her. She recently hosted Musk at his Possible ad conference in Miami for a gushing interview and tweetstorm, including how excited NBC is to partner with Twitter for the next Olympics.
In his tweet todayMusk said that once his mysterious new CEO starts in about six weeks, he will “transition to executive chairman and CTO, overseeing products, software and system operators.”
That means his CEO will be almost entirely focused on the business, for which Yaccarino is certainly qualified. It already runs a multibillion-dollar ad business and is well-respected among the group of CMOs who need to be convinced to spend on the platform again. Importantly, I’m told she and Musk are also in a political relationship.
“She’s tough as fuck and always wanted the job,” says a former colleague. “It is perfect.”
If I had to guess, the reason Musk didn’t announce the name is because of bad timing on Yacarino’s part. NBCU is scheduled to make its annual Upfront presentation to advertisers on Monday, which Yaccarino is apparently rehearsing for today. uncomfortable!
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Amrita Khalid contributed reporting.