NBCU Says Top Ad Exec Linda Yaccarino Is Leaving Company Amid Reports She’s Twitter’s Next CEO

AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

NBCUniversal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino has stepped down from her post amid speculation that Elon Musk has picked her to become the new CEO of Twitter.

In a news release, the company said Yaccarino was leaving “effective immediately” after 12 years with the network.

CNBC reported Yaccarino was in advanced talks for Twitter’s top position that has been held by Musk since he famously bought the company in 2022 for $44 billion.

On Twitter Thursday, Musk posted, “Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks! My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.” Musk has long sought to reassure advertisers to both stay and join Twitter as he focuses on increasing revenue amid his ongoing erratic behavior.

Court documents filed last month show that Twitter, Inc., would henceforth be known as X Corp., thus the X/Twitter reference in Musk’s text.

Yaccarino was pictured with Musk at a marketing conference in April, where they discussed marketing and the future of Twitter in a keynote interview, according to CNBC.

Yaccarino’s exit added to the recent shake-up at NBCUniversal that saw the ouster of CEO Jeff Shell after he admitted to an inappropriate relationship with CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble. Shell has said he deeply regretted the situation. NBCUniversal isn’t immediately replacing Shell, saying its top executives will report to parent company Comcast’s President, according to CNBC.

NBCUniversal announced that Yaccarino would be replaced by Mark Marshall, the president of advertising sales and client partnerships.

This is a breaking story and has been updated.