Elon Musk announces Linda Yaccarino as new CEO of Twitter

Musk tweeted he was looking forward to working with Ms Yaccarino to transform Twitter into ‘the everything app’

Elon Musk has announced he’s hired former NBCUniversal advertising boss Linda Yaccarino as the new Twitter chief executive.

The erratic billionaire confirmed widespread speculation that Ms Yaccarino would take on the role in a Twitter post on Friday.

“Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app,” Mr Musk wrote.

Ms Yaccarino will focus on business operations, while Mr Musk said he would stay on as executive chairman and focus on product design and new technology.

Hours earlier, Ms Yaccarino said in a statement she was leaving her role as chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal after more than a decade at the media conglomerate.

“It has been an absolute honour to be part of Comcast NBCUniversal and lead the most incredible team,” she said.

“We’ve transformed our company and the entire industry.”

Linda Yaccarino onstage at a panel discussion for the 2016 Advertising Week in New York. (Getty Images)

On Thursday, Mr Musk teased the appointment when he announced he had hired a woman to take over the social media platform’s top job from him in six weeks.

It comes six months after Mr Musk said he would step down as CEO, and as Twitter faces an exodus of advertisers, service disruptions, and renewed scrutiny from regulators.

After purchasing the platform for $44bn last October, Mr Musk has fired around 80 per cent of the workforce, reinstated banned accounts, and allowed hate speech to flourish under the guise of “free speech”, alienating many longtime users.

In an interview with the BBC last month, Mr Musk said he had reduced the headcount at the San Francisco-based tech firm to just 1,500 staff.

Last year, he revealed plans to transform Twitter into the “everything app” in the style of China’s WeChat, which offers users mobile payments and encrypted messaging.

Ms Yaccarino’s appointment was met with hostility from some of Mr Musk’s conspiracy-minded fanbase on the platform over her involvement with the World Economic Forum.

Ms Yaccarino chairs the organisation’s taskforce on the future of work, and sits on the media, entertainment and culture industry governors steering committee.

In 2018, Donald Trump appointed her to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

While at NBC, Ms Yaccarino oversaw the launch of the broadcaster’s streaming service Peacock.

In March, the Federal Trade Commission revealed to a House of Congress subcommittee it was conducting a wide-ranging investigation into Twitter privacy practices.