Elon Musk announces ad executive Linda Yaccarino as new Twitter CEO

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Billionaire Elon Musk on Friday announced NBCUniversal's former advertising executive Linda Yaccarino as his successor -- the new chief executive (CEO) of Twitter.

"I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!" he wrote on his personal Twitter account.

Musk said Yaccarino will focus primarily on business operations, while he will work on product design and new technology.

"Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app," he added.

Musk, the current CEO and owner of Twitter, announced late Thursday that he hired a new CEO for Twitter and she will be starting in six weeks.

He also said he will still be actively involved in the company as chief technology officer (CTO) and dealing with systems operations.

Earlier Friday, Yaccarino resigned from her position as global advertising chief at NBCUniversal. She joined the US-based multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate in 2011.

Musk announced in February he could appoint a new CEO for Twitter by the end of 2023.

The billionaire is also the CEO of electric carmaker Tesla and spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and satellite communications firm SpaceX.

He bought Twitter for $44 billion in October last year.