Musk shared his delight over Linda Yaccarino taking over as Twitters new CEO in a tweet on Friday. He stated that Yaccarinos primary focus would be on business operations, while he would continue to be highly involved in product design and new technology. Prior to this statement, NBCUniversal announced on Friday that Yaccarino would step down as chairwoman of global advertising and partnerships effective immediately. Although Musk has already expressed his intention to step aside as CEO of Twitter, now known as X Corp, it is unlikely that he will be completely removed from decision-making processes.How does Linda Yaccarinos succession help TwitterAttracting advertisers is critical for Musk and Twitter, especially after many advertisers quit the network following Musks takeover the company is worried about potential brand damage in the resulting chaos. Musk said in late April that sponsors had returned but provided no other details. Yaccarinos considerable advertising business experience, including effectively integrating and digitising ad sales at Comcast and NBC, makes her a vital asset for Twitters future. Her track record of cross-marketing ads across platforms may appeal to Musk, who wants to turn Twitter into a bigger media platform.According to her official bio, Yaccarino worked for NBCUniversal for many years, earning over $100 billion in ad sales since 2011. At NBC, she held several positions, including chair of advertising and client partnerships and president of cable entertainment and digital advertising services. Yaccarino spent over two decades at Turner, a global entertainment firm, before joining NBC. Yaccarino interviewed Musk on a Miami stage in front of a large number of sponsors last month.Linda Yaccarino with Elon Musk (Image: Twitter)Can effective advertising alone save TwitterAccording to industry insiders, Yaccarinos leadership and advertising experience qualify her to translate Musks vision into rewards for marketers. They do, however, agree that advertising is not Twitters main challenge for its future CEO. Musk has made major modifications to the platform, both in terms of product and community, that some believe have had a detrimental impact.Image: PixabayDuring Musks tenure, Twitter saw significant turmoil, including the sacking of top executives and a good number of its workforce. As a result, there are fewer engineers in charge of site maintenance and fewer content moderators to deal with concerns like hate speech and graphic violence. Musk also altered the platforms authentication system and reduced measures against misinformation dissemination.These developments, together with Musks track record of propagating misinformation and interacting with controversial personalities, have contributed to advertisers loss of trust in the platform. Regaining advertisers faith will necessitate the stabilisation of Twitter and the assurance that critical product decisions are made wisely and carefully rather than hastily based on fan tweets or casual ideas, as Musk has been known to do. While Yaccarino has significant advertising experience, her business success will be dependent on Musks backing for product-related problems.Criticism against Linda Yaccarinos appointmentMusks policy changes led to friction among users, causing some to abandon the platform. On Friday, several of Musks most ardent supporters expressed concern over Yaccarinos involvement with the World Economic Forum, an organisation that Musk has repeatedly criticised. This fueled suspicion that Twitter would depart from Musks “2.0 values.” Musk, on the other hand, reiterated on Thursday that Twitters commitment to open-source transparency and the embrace of a diverse spectrum of perspectives remains unaltered.Some have questioned Yaccarinos political views, citing her appointment to Donald Trumps Council on Sports Fitness and Nutrition for two years in 2018. Furthermore, as chair of the Ad Council, she worked with the Biden White House on a successful coronavirus vaccination campaign that reached over 200 million Americans.
