Elon Musk has confirmed that Linda Yaccarino will join Twitter as its new CEO.
Musk announced on Friday that he would take more of a back seat and focus on product design and implementing new technology, after a tumultuous seven months as head honcho.
Yaccarino joins the social media platform after stepping down as the advertising chief at media conglomerate NBC Universal.
The 60-year-old has decades of experience in the advertising industry and has been headhunted for her extensive skill set and expertise in generating revenue for companies she has worked for.
Yaccarino will also become one of the first women to lead a major social media company.
That’s a step in the right direction for a tech industry often dominated by men.
Data shows that only around 10% of all Fortune 500 tech companies are currently headed by women.
Musk said in a tweet that he was “excited” to hire Yaccarino, who is expected to start work as CEO in around six weeks’ time.
He also reiterated his desire to turn Twitter into a one-stop destination for media consumption and online purchases.
Musk noted: “Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app.”
Yaccarino’s Twitter follower numbers have soared since the announcement was made on Friday.
She had just over 7k followers after her last tweet on Wednesday (10 May), but that figure has since soared to 370k.
Commenting on the news, Business Insider’s Claire Atkinson said Yaccarino is the “kind of person” Musk needs, especially with Twitter’s ad revenue tumbling.
