Skip to main content

Linda Yaccarino fires off first tweets as Twitter’s new CEO

Linda Yaccarino has tweeted her thanks to Elon Musk for appointing her as the company’s new CEO.

Musk named Yaccarino as the new Twitter chief on Friday and she will begin work in the next six weeks. On the same day, she stepped down as ad sales chief at NBCUniversal after 12 years at the media company.

“Thank you Elon Musk!” Yaccarino tweeted on Saturday. “I’ve long been inspired by your vision to create a brighter future. I’m excited to help bring this vision to Twitter and transform this business together!”

When announcing his new hire on Friday, Musk, who acquired Twitter in October for $44 billion, said Yaccarino will focus “primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology.”

Thank you @elonmusk!
 
I’ve long been inspired by your vision to create a brighter future. I’m excited to help bring this vision to Twitter and transform this business together! https://t.co/BcvySu7K76

— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayacc) May 13, 2023

Following her appointment, Yaccarino noticed a sudden uptick in the number of people following her Twitter account, with more than 380,000 people currently watching her every word.

“I see I have some new followers,” the incoming Twitter chief tweeted. “I’m not as prolific as Elon Musk (yet!), but I’m just as committed to the future of this platform. Your feedback is VITAL to that future. I’m here for all of it. Let’s keep the conversation going and build Twitter 2.0 together!”

With Musk known to be fond of getting directly involved in any project that he’s linked to, many are keen to see to what extent he takes a back seat and lets Yaccarino get on with the job.

A tweet directed at Musk on Friday expressed concerns over his decision to pick Yaccarino, citing comments she made during a recent on-stage interview with Musk that suggested she might attempt to limit certain kinds of speech on the platform to keep advertisers onside.

“I hear your concerns, but don’t judge too early,” Musk tweeted in response. “I am adamant about defending free speech, even if it means losing money.”

In a statement posted by NBCUniversal announcing Yaccarino’s departure from the company, Yaccarino said: “It has been an absolute honor to be part of Comcast NBCUniversal and lead the most incredible team. We’ve transformed our company and the entire industry.”

Now many are watching to see if she’ll have a similar impact at Twitter.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Twitter could sell usernames via online auctions
A lot of white Twitter logos against a blue background.

Since taking over Twitter in late October in a deal worth $44 billion, Elon Musk has been looking for ways for the company to generate much-needed revenue.

After slashing staff numbers and upping the subscription price of the premium Twitter Blue tier, the social media firm could be about to auction off usernames of dormant accounts, according to a New York Times report on Wednesday, January 11.

Read more
Elon Musk just did something uncontroversial at Twitter
Twitter logo in white stacked on top of a blue stylized background with the Twitter logo repeating in shades of blue.

Elon Musk has unveiled a new Twitter feature that lets you see how many times a tweet has been viewed.

The company's new owner and CEO posted about the feature on Thursday, noting that it’s similar to how the platform already shows view counts for videos.

Read more
Elon Musk confirms he will step down as Twitter CEO
A digital image of Elon Musk in front of a stylized background with the Twitter logo repeating.

Elon Musk says he will step down as CEO of Twitter “as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job.”

The billionaire entrepreneur, who acquired the social media company at the end of October in a deal worth $44 billion, made the statement in a tweet on Tuesday night, adding that once a new CEO is in place, he will “just run the software and servers teams.”

Read more