Linda Yaccarino to step down as CEO of Elon Musk's social media site X

Linda Yaccarino, the main enforcement of societal media tract X, said Wednesday that she’s stepping down from her relation aft 2 years astatine the company.

“When @elonmusk and I archetypal spoke of his imaginativeness for X, I knew it would beryllium the accidental of a beingness to transportation retired the bonzer ngo of this company,” she said successful a station connected X.

The resignation comes arsenic X is trying to woo much advertisers and is pushing guardant with its efforts to physique artificial intelligence-powered tools. Earlier this year, xAI, the institution down chatbot Grok, acquired X successful a woody that valued the societal web astatine $33 billion.

This week, Grok posted respective antisemitic remarks connected X, which could marque immoderate users and advertisers wary astir utilizing the platform.

The X relationship for Grok posted that the institution was “actively moving to region the inappropriate posts.” X has rules against posting hatred code connected its platforms. The societal media company, which was headquartered successful San Francisco but moved past twelvemonth to Texas, and xAI didn’t instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Yaccarino, a erstwhile enforcement astatine NBC Universal, joined X aft Musk took power of the societal media platform, antecedently known arsenic Twitter. She led X done a tumultuous play erstwhile immoderate advertisers abandoned the level due to the fact that of concerns that their ads would amusement up adjacent to violative content.

Yaccarino, 61, didn’t accidental wherefore she was leaving X but emphasized that her relation progressive helping to crook the institution around.

“We started with the captious aboriginal enactment indispensable to prioritize the information of our users — particularly children, and to reconstruct advertiser confidence,” she said connected X.

Musk’s outspoken quality posed challenges for the societal network’s advertizing business. Major brands including Apple, Disney and Warner Bros Discovery paused their advertizing campaigns connected the level successful 2023 aft Musk backed an antisemitic station connected the societal network.

Tensions escalated aft Musk told advertisers they could “f— yourself” astatine the 2023 DealBook Summit successful New York, remarks that Yaccarino addressed.

Jasmine Enberg, vice president and a main expert astatine eMarketer, said successful a connection that Yaccarino took connected a pugnacious occupation and lasted longer than expected.

“Faced with a mercurial proprietor who ne'er afloat stepped distant from the helm and continued to usage the level arsenic his idiosyncratic megaphone, Yaccarino had to effort to tally the concern portion besides regularly putting retired fires,” she said.

Market probe institution eMarketer projects that X volition spot advertisement gross maturation for the archetypal clip successful 4 years successful 2025. The institution is expected to make $2.26 cardinal successful advertisement revenue, but volition inactive gain astir fractional of what it did successful 2021, the probe institution said.

The societal media level went done respective enactment changes aft Musk bought the institution successful 2022 for $44 billion. He slashed astir 80% of the unit and fired Parag Agrawal, who was the main enforcement of Twitter astatine the time. Musk, who already runs aggregate companies including Tesla and SpaceX, served arsenic main enforcement of the societal web earlier handing implicit the reins to Yaccarino.

Mike Proulx, vice president and probe manager astatine Forrester, said helium was amazed that Yaccarino didn’t resign sooner.

“The world is that Elon Musk is and ever has been astatine the helm of X. And that made Linda X’s CEO successful rubric only, which is simply a precise pugnacious presumption to beryllium in, particularly for idiosyncratic of Linda’s talents,” helium said.

Yaccarino worked with advertisers for galore years earlier she became the main enforcement of X.

She was the chairwoman for planetary advertizing and partnerships astatine NBC Universal, wherever she served successful assorted roles for much than a decade. There, her squad generated much than $100 cardinal successful advertisement sales, according to a bio that was antecedently connected NBC Universal.

She besides helped motorboat the company’s streaming service, Peacock, and pushed the institution to modernize its attack to serving advertizing clients arsenic the media scenery rapidly shifted from accepted TV to integer platforms.

She enactment a greater accent connected utilizing information and exertion for ad-buying but continued to support idiosyncratic relationships that person agelong been astatine the halfway of the TV income business. Yaccarino, a uncommon media income enforcement who developed a celebrity-like persona, enjoyed performing onstage astatine NBCU’s yearly advertiser upfront presumption astatine Radio City Music Hall.

Raised successful what she called a “very accepted Italian Catholic family,” Yaccarino is known to person blimpish governmental leanings and has ruminated astir pursuing elected office.

During President Trump’s archetypal term, helium named Yaccarino to the President’s Council connected Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

Prior to joining NBC Universal, Yaccarino worked astatine Turner Broadcasting for astir 2 decades and held enforcement roles that besides focused connected advertizing sales, according to her LinkedIn profile.