Elon Musk to step down as CEO of Twitter and hire new CEO, possibly a woman

Elon Musk has announced that he will step down as CEO of Twitter in six weeks, and will instead serve as executive chair and CTO.[0] Musk has stated that he has already hired a new CEO for Twitter's parent company, X Corp., and suggested that the new boss will be a woman.[1] This news comes after Musk faced criticism for focusing too much on Twitter and neglecting his role at Tesla, where he is also CEO.[2] Musk took over Twitter in October 2022 after completing a $44 billion acquisition, and during his time as CEO, he has made controversial changes to the platform, including firing thousands of staff and phasing out the legacy verification system.[3] Musk's announcement has caused Tesla's stock to rise, with investors hoping that he will now focus more on the electric car company.[4]

The identity of the new CEO has not yet been revealed, but sources suggest it may be Linda Yaccarino, head of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal.[5] Yaccarino has been supportive of Musk in recent months, even as he has faced criticism for his management of Twitter.[6] For over ten years, Yaccarino has served at NBCUniversal, advocating for the development of improved methods for measuring the efficacy of advertisements within the industry.[7] She was key in the launch of the company's ad-supported Peacock streaming service and has spearheaded initiatives to generate new cash flows through e-commerce.[8]

Whoever the new CEO is, they will have their work cut out for them. Twitter has cut its staff to the bone, from roughly 8,000 employees to less than 1,000 since Musk took over last year, and the platform has seen multiple technical glitches.[1] The platform's controversial content, which Musk has allowed, has caused many brands to withdraw their support, leading to a significant drop in ad revenue.[5] Although Musk has talked about paid subscribers to Twitter Blue, it is advertising that brings in the vast majority of revenue at Twitter.[4] During the takeover, over 90% of Twitter's revenue came from advertisements.[9]

Despite stepping down as CEO, Elon Musk is likely to maintain significant control over the future direction of Twitter.[0] After taking over the company in October, Musk cleared out the C-Suite, dissolved the board, and became both the CEO and sole director of the platform.[0] Recently, he has announced new features for Twitter, including voice, video calls, and encrypted direct messages. The news of a new CEO for Twitter has sparked speculation and excitement as to who the new leader will be and what changes they will bring to the platform.[10]

0. “Elon Musk says he's found a new CEO for Twitter” CNN, 11 May. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/11/tech/elon-musk-twitter-ceo/index.html

1. “Elon Musk announces Twitter will welcome new female CEO in June” Yahoo Finance, 11 May. 2023, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-announces-twitter-welcome-200712379.html

2. “Tesla (TSLA) shares jump on Elon Musk announcing he found a CEO for Twitter” Electrek, 11 May. 2023, https://electrek.co/2023/05/11/tesla-tsla-shares-jump-elon-musk-ceo-twitter

3. “Elon Musk announces he will step down as Twitter CEO” Cointelegraph, 11 May. 2023, https://cointelegraph.com/news/elon-musk-announces-he-will-step-down-as-twitter-ceo

4. “Elon Musk says he has appointed new Twitter boss” BBC, 12 May. 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65562289

5. “The next CEO of Twitter, replacing Elon Musk, could be this NBC ad executive—or one of these other high-powered woman execs” Fortune, 12 May. 2023, https://fortune.com/2023/05/11/elon-musk-hired-next-twitter-ceo-woman-speculation-linda-yaccarino/

6. “Twitter CEO: NBCU's Linda Yaccarino, Ella Irwin Floated As Candidates.” Business Insider, 11 May. 2023, https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-new-ceo-ella-irwin-linda-yaccarino-floated-candidates-2023-5

7. “NBCU’s Linda Yaccarino in Talks for Twitter CEO” Variety, 11 May. 2023, https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/linda-yaccarino-twitter-ceo-nbcuniversal-1235610592

8. “Elon Musk says he's hired replacement Twitter CEO, NBCUniversal head of advertising rumored to be in talks” New York Daily News, 11 May. 2023, https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-elon-musk-new-twitter-ceo-20230511-nrge4wd6ondzrcofht7bq7rmrq-story.html

9. “NBCUniversal Exec Linda Yaccarino In Talks To Become Twitter CEO – Report” Deadline, 12 May. 2023, https://deadline.com/2023/05/twitter-ceo-linda-yaccarino-talks-nbcuniversal-executive-1235364271

10. “Elon Musk says ‘I've hired a new CEO' for Twitter” NPR, 11 May. 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/05/11/1175621024/musk-ceo-twitter-tesla

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