On Thursday, Elon Musk announced that Twitter will soon have a new CEO, with Musk himself taking on the role of executive chairman and CTO overseeing the company's software and products.
Musk announced the news in a tweet, in which he hinted that the new CEO would be a woman. The billionaire did not name her, but said she would take over in about six weeks.
Shortly after Musk's announcement, the Wall Street Journal reported that NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino was in talks with the entrepreneur to take over as CEO of Twitter. Twitter has yet to respond, but Yaccarino and Musk are on good terms. The two have appeared together at advertising industry events , and Yaccarino has spoken favorably of Musk.
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Elon Musk has been saying for months that he would step down as CEO of Twitter. In fact, in December, he conducted an informal pollasking users whether he should step down from the role. The billionaire had said he would act on the results.
Of the 17.5 million votes cast, the majority – 57.5% – voted in favor of Elon Musk's resignation, while 42.5% voted against.
So, Musk said that once he found the right person, he would leave.
Since announcing that a replacement had been found for Twitter's CEO position, shares Tesla have jumped more than 2%, a sign that investors were pleased with the move.
Several Tesla investors were concerned that Musk was spending too much time on Twitter, putting the auto industry, of which he is also CEO, on the back burner. In April, a number of Tesla shareholders publicly urged Tesla 's board to ensure Musk devoted more time to the company.
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Elon Musk bought the platform last October for $44 billion. The acquisition and his immediate actions have drawn media and public attention and sparked backlash. Upon acquiring Twitter, the billionaire fired the company's top executives, became CEO himself, and shortly thereafter laid off thousands of employees.
Under his leadership, Twitter's core advertising business has faced a number of problems. Many companies have halted their paid promotional campaigns as the service has seen a surge in hate speech.
Another frequent topic of discussion recently has been the revised Twitter Blue, which requires users to pay.
During his time at Twitter, Musk has changed the platform's rules and policies several times, often without warning, suspending user accounts, including several technology journalists and an account that tracked his jet .
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On the other hand, it has allowed the return of other people previously banned by Twitter, including former US President Donald Trumpand other controversial figures who had been involved in misinformation, conspiracy theories or hate speech.
Twitter has also faced several technical glitches and outages during Musk's tenure as CEO, some of which coincided with massive layoffs.
It remains to be seen who Twitter's new CEO will be and whether things will get better for the company once she takes office.
Source: www.cnbc.com
