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Twitter owner Elon Musk on Friday named Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of the social media platform.
Musk said Thursday that he had picked a new CEO, but will remain executive chair and chief technology officer of Twitter.
Here are three things you need to know about Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal advertising executive.
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Advertising experience
Yaccarino has been at NBCU for 12 years, most recently serving as chairman of global advertising and partnerships. She brings deep knowledge of the advertising sector to Twitter at a time when some advertisers have been skeptical of Musk’s leadership and the platform’s future.
In her NBCU role, she managed a 2,000-member team, overseeing marketing as well as global, national, and local ad sales. The media company announced on Friday that she was leaving.
She’s also the former chair of the board of the Ad Council, a nonprofit that produces PSAs for NGOs and the U.S. government. In 2021 the council worked with the Biden administration on a pro-vaccine campaign.
Political leanings
Yaccarino appears to share Musk’s conservative political leanings, according to reports.
Some Twitter users were quick to point out that Yaccarino follows a number of right-wing Twitter accounts.
In 2020, former U.S. President Donald Trump appointed Yaccarino to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, alongside the unsuccessful Republican Senate candidates Herschel Walker and Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Some far-right accounts, meanwhile, criticized Yaccarino over past statements in support of diversity and vaccinations, as well as her ties to the World Economic Forum, where she’s chaired a task force focused on the future of work.
Wouldn’t bet against Elon
Yaccarino has interacted with and praised Musk in the past, recently interviewing him about his vision for Twitter at a digital marketing conference in Miami.
Last year, while speaking at an Ad Age conference, she said she wouldn’t “bet against” Musk, and said she was obsessed with his “fascinating” $44 billion purchase of Twitter.
She said she thought Musk “understands safety and transparency,” but needs time to “learn advertising.”
“Give me a break, I think we can teach him,” she said.
