Ad chief at NBC to head Twitter
Linda Yaccarino is leaving her role as head of global advertising at Nbcuniversal to take the helm at Twitter, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Yaccarino and Nbcuniversal announced her departure on Friday morning, effective immediately. Without naming Yaccarino, Elon Musk said in a tweet on Thursday that he had chosen a new chief executive who would begin in six weeks and that he is shifting into the role of Twitter's chief technologist.
Yaccarino joined Nbcuniversal in 2011 after nearly two decades at Turner Broadcasting. At Nbcuniversal, she helped launch the ad-supported streaming service Peacock and oversaw live events like the Super Bowl and Olympic Games. Yaccarino also led partnerships with tech companies including Snapchat, Youtube, and, of course, Twitter.
Musk's tweet came at an awkward time for the executive; Nbcuniversal is scheduled to give its annual presentation to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall in New York on Monday. The upfront events, which span the week, are when major media companies begin selling advertising for the fall TV season. Yaccarino isn't expected to appear at NBC'S upfront presentation next week, a source said.
This year's presentations were already challenged by a screenwriters strike that could result in major delays in TV production and schedules. Nbcuniversal's event is expected to focus heavily on online advertising, as the company further promotes its lineup of movies and TV shows on Peacock.
Nbcuniversal, a division of Comcast Corp., was rocked just last month by the firing of its chief executive, Jeff Shell, over a sexual harassment complaint levelled by an employee.
Mark Marshall will become interim chairman of Nbcuniversal's global advertising and partnerships group.