Six months after taking over the Twitter, an action, which was evaluated quite controversially, Elon Musk has named the new CEO of the company, writes the BBC.
Musk has named former NBCUniversal head of advertising Linda Yaccarino as head of Twitter, and has indicated that the new head will start within six weeks. Musk will continue to oversee Twitter’s work — he will remain the company’s CTO and board member. A day after Musk sparked a flurry of rumors by announcing that he had found the new leader but did not name it, he revealed that it would indeed be Yaccarino and wrote that he hoped Yaccarino would turn Twitter into the app where everything happens.
For some time, the billionaire felt the need to find someone else to oversee Twitter’s work so he could focus on his other businesses, including electric car maker Tesla and space exploration company SpaceX.
Business Insider’s Claire Atkinson suggested that Yaccarino’s advertising experience could help Twitter, which saw ad sales plummet after Musk took over. Atkinson said:
“She’s the kind of person that I can imagine Elon Musk needs.
She won’t be rolled over.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, in 2012 the industry referred to Yaccarino’s negotiating style as velvet hammer. Joining Twitter, she will face the challenge of running a company struggling to turn a profit while grappling with increased attention to its ability to combat hate speech and the spread of misinformation. As for plans for Twitter, Musk said last year that he wanted to reduce the platform’s reliance on ads and change the way content is controlled.
Musk has also said he wants to
expand the platform’s features to include payment options, an encrypted messaging service and phone calls.
However, the sacking of thousands of staff, including those responsible for policing inappropriate posts, sparked outrage. Also, a wave of criticism was caused by the change in the tactics of blocking accounts – payment is required for the so-called blue ticks, and thus these accounts can serve to spread misinformation. The change raised concerns among advertisers, and many stopped advertising on Twitter out of concern for the reputation of their brands. Musk has acknowledged that the drop in revenue is significant.
Musk, who likes to appoint women to high and responsible positions in his companies, is also known as an unpredictable and very demanding leader, and industry experts are ready to watch with anticipation how the working relationship between Musk, who always wants to be hands on, and Yaccarino will develop. The new head of Twitter, has not yet commented on the information spread. Atkinson pointed out that the two are facing difficult negotiations about how Twitter will control content, especially before next year’s US presidential election: “How long Linda can last under these tricky management situations is anyone’s guess.”
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