Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Dec 11, 2024

New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino May Take Aide Krishan Bhatia With Her

New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino May Take Aide Krishan Bhatia With Her

Linda Yaccarino is leaving her job as head of global advertising at NBC Universal to take the chief executive officer role at Twitter.
Twitter's next leader is a well-connected media executive whose deep ties to Madison Avenue could help lure advertisers back to the platform at a critical time.

Linda Yaccarino is leaving her job as head of global advertising at NBC Universal to take the chief executive officer role at Twitter. She will work closely with owner Elon Musk, who will be both chief technology officer and executive chairman.

She will helm a company mired in multiple crises - many of them spurred by Musk himself. Musk fired or lost about 75% of Twitter employees since his October takeover, including most of those who had deep relationships in sales and partnerships, which Yaccarino will now need to repair. The company has also faced an advertiser exodus, triggered in part by Musk's erratic content moderation decisions and his own tweets.

Yaccarino joined Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal in 2011 after nearly two decades at Turner, home of cable channels like TNT and TBS. At NBC, she helped launch the ad-supported streaming service Peacock, oversaw live events like the Super Bowl and Olympic Games, and forged partnerships with tech companies including Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter.

She's perhaps best known for leading the TV industry's push for new ways to measure viewers. Yaccarino was highly critical of Nielsen, whose ratings have long formed the basis for TV ad deals, for not counting all the people who watched NBC's shows online. In recent years, Yaccarino took the unusual step of bringing together competitors in the media industry to discuss alternatives.

"She has been ahead of the curve really in measurement and marketing effectiveness," said Michael Kassan, the chief executive officer of the marketing and media consulting firm Medialink.

Kassan said Yaccarino is "extraordinarily well-respected in the industry" and has "amazing brand and agency relationships."

During his tenure, Musk slashed thousands of jobs, scaled back the company's content moderation and allowed accounts previously banned for breaking rules to return. A controversial subscription service plan, Twitter Blue, has been flailing, drawing less than 1% of the user base. Twitter needs to boost sales in order to repay $12.5 billion in debt the company took on when Musk bought it. Annual interest is expected to exceed $1.2 billion.

Despite a slight uptick in daily users since early 2022, Twitter's revenue has fallen by 50% since October as a result of a "massive decline" in advertising, Musk said in March.

"She's probably just what Elon needs to establish trust among advertisers," said Martin Sorrell, who founded WPP plc, one of the world's largest advertising companies.

Dave Campanelli, chief investment officer at Horizon Media, said Yaccarino was "very, very tough in negotiations" but also listened to advertisers' needs.

"She'll bring a level of understanding of the ad space and what it takes to bring advertisers back to the platform," he said.

Media-industry peers say it was an open secret that Yaccarino wanted the CEO job at NBCUniversal, previously helmed by Jeff Shell. Some in the industry suspect Shell's departure last month influenced Yaccarino's decision to leave, and some speculate that Yaccarino's top lieutenant, Krishan Bhatia, could join her at Twitter.

Yaccarino has been described as trustworthy and empathic by those who know her personally. She's also known to be image-conscious and careful about how she comes off in public, acquaintances say.

Twitter users are already dissecting Yaccarino's politics and behavior on the platform to try to understand what kind of content moderation decisions she might stand behind - and whether she will align with Musk in his embrace of right-wing provocateurs that were suspended under Twitter's previous leadership for breaking rules or spreading misinformation.

In 2018, she was named by then-President Donald Trump to the President's Council on Sport, Fitness and Nutrition. On Twitter, she is following many people in Trump's orbit, including previously banned accounts, though it's unclear whether she runs her own profile. Among the far right, she is already facing backlash for serving on a World Economic Forum task force and associating with a pro-vaccination advertising campaign.

While at NBC, Yaccarino oversaw the integration of sales teams for Telemundo and became a big advocate for multicultural programming, according to Steven Wolfe Pereira, chief business officer at 3Pas Studios, who has known Yaccarino for years.

While Musk has publicly mocked diversity efforts at Twitter, Pereira said Yaccarino has been a "champion" on such measures and doesn't back down during business negotiations. "She is not a wallflower. They would call her the Velvet Hammer," Pereira said. "She's tough, but she's fair."

One of Yaccarino's first challenges will be a new show on Twitter from fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson, whose incendiary remarks led advertisers to steer clear of him on cable.

Another will be handling her mercurial, unpredictable new boss. He seemed to catch Yaccarino off guard Thursday when he said in a tweet that he had chosen a new CEO who would begin in six weeks, without naming her.

During an advertising conference last month in Miami, Yaccarino pushed Musk on his plans for making the platform more comfortable for brands. At one point, she candidly asked Musk whether he felt he had "derisked"' the site enough to assure advertisers that their campaigns aren't going to land in "awful hateful places.'"

Yaccarino told Musk on stage: "Are there days where I see some of your tweets and wish I could say, "Stop helping the situation?"

She nodded her head as she said it.

"There are very few people who wouldn't be just seen as a figurehead CEO of Twitter and Linda Yaccarino is one of them," said Mike Proulx, who leads Forrester's chief marketing officer research team. "She's a well-respected force in the industry whose credibility with advertisers speaks for itself."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Russia’s Safe Haven: Bashar al-Assad Transferred Amid International Scrutiny
Israel's Delicate Balancing Act in Syrian Turmoil
Syrian Chemical Arsenal: A Looming Global Threat in Assad's Wake
Qatar's Democratic Dilemma: A Referendum on Representation
The Obsession That Could Divide: GB News and Its Singular Focus on UK Muslims
Anatomy of Regime Change: The Key Players in Syria's Tumultuous Fall
Syria After Assad: A Pyrrhic Victory with Uncertain Horizons
The Day After Assad: Can Syria Steer Clear of the Libyan Pitfall?
UAE Accelerates Quantum Computing Investment: A Leap into the Future
Geopolitical Chess: Trump's Reflections on Russia's Waned Syrian Influence
Iranian Embassy in Damascus Attacked Amidst Rising Tensions
A New Dawn in Syria: The Flag That Signals Change
Assad's Departure Signals New Epoch for Syria
Bridging Continents: The EU-GCC Summit's Strategic Dance
The Brussels Nexus: Balancing Energy, Economy, and Human Rights at the EU-GCC Summit
Dubai Ride 2024 Transforms Sheikh Zayed Road into Cycling Haven
UAE's Bold Leap into Space: Navigating Innovation and Ambition
UAE's Health Initiatives Pave the Way for Medical Breakthroughs and Global Partnerships
Piercing the Cosmic Veil: Abu Dhabi's Astronomical Breakthrough
Benralizumab: A Potential Milestone in Asthma Treatment
Navigating the Cosmos: UAE's Leap Toward Space Supremacy
Border Closures Echo Through the Middle East: The Syrian Conflict's New Chapter
Iran Releases Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi Amidst Global Appeals
UAE's Celestial Events and Scientific Milestones Take Center Stage
Narges Mohammadi: A Temporary Reprieve in the Struggle for Freedom
Syria's Strategic Chokehold: The Tumultuous Fate of Homs
Syrian Rebels' Swift Offensive Threatens Assad's Regime
Aleppo's Revitalized Front: A Crucible for Russia's Middle Eastern Ambitions
Global Tensions Rise Amid Accusations, Advances, and Diplomatic Shifts
A Temporary Release: The Fragile Freedom of Iran's Narges Mohammadi
Syrian Rebels Make Major Gains in Aleppo
UK Intelligence Chief Warns: Iran's Nuclear Ambitions Pose Global Threat
Hezbollah Chief Declares 'Great Victory' Against Israel
Hamas Delegation Engages in Gaza Ceasefire Talks in Egypt
Rebel Advances Lead to Aleppo Airport Closure
France's Delicate Position on Netanyahu's ICC Arrest Warrant
Global Tensions Mount: Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Strained, International Calls for Free Expression, and Strategic Military Shifts
La Niña Devastates Indonesia, Military Corruption Unraveling in China, and Rising Tensions in Middle East: Global Briefing
Walmart Drops Diversity Initiatives Amid Broader Conservative Backlash; Global Drug Crackdown and More News Highlights
Global Tensions and Legal Battles: Mexican Trade Disputes, British Investigations, and India's Energy Challenges
Elon Musk's Call to Abolish CFPB, Trump's Controversial Appointments, and Global Tensions: Key Developments in Politics and Security
Ceasefire in Lebanon Tested Amidst U.S. Arms Sale to Israel and Ongoing Gaza Conflict
US and France Broker Ceasefire Between Israel and Hezbollah as Regional Tensions Simmer
Tragedy at Sea: Egyptian Rescue Mission Unfolds Amidst Global Tensions and Legal Battles
Ukraine Seeks South Korean Weapons Aid Amid Russian Conflict; Global Tensions and Defense Shifts Unfold
Israeli Finance Minister Advocates Halving Gaza's Population
Israel and Lebanon Reach Ceasefire Agreement
UN Investigates Exploitation in Chad Refugee Camps as Middle Eastern and US Tensions Unfold
Historic Opportunity for Turkish-Kurdish Peace Talks as Global Tensions Rise
UK Campaigners Seek High Court Injunction on F-35 Parts to Israel Amid Rising Middle East Tensions
×