Elon Musk found his Twitter CEO on Friday: Linda Yaccarino is an experienced advertising executive who will reassure advertisers. While Elon is focused on product design and new tech at X Corp, Linda will oversee business operations.
As Chief Operating Officer at NBCUniversal, she oversaw a 2,000-person global team which generated $100 billion in ad sales, according to her company profile. Furthermore, they formed partnerships with new media companies like Apple News, YouTube and Buzzfeed.
Transforming the $70 Billion Television Industry
Linda Yaccarino Wikipedia has seen firsthand how rapid change can impact media executives. Born into an Italian-American working-class family and raised as one herself, at just 59 she has made significant inroads into America’s biggest entertainment companies; from overhauling NBCUniversal ad sales to leading partnerships with Apple News, Buzzfeed ReachTV Snapchat YouTube and Twitter among many others.
At Twitter, Yaccarino may use her expertise to revive ad sales through sound-on ads shown instead of short videos currently found there. Her affiliation with Ad Council–an agency responsible for public service campaigns including COVID-19 vaccination efforts–has caused consternation from some right-leaning or anarchist members who fear she will enforce stricter content moderation policies. But Yaccarino remains undaunted: her goal is to develop an “all-media monetization model revolutionary to future.”
Embracing Digital Viewing and New Metrics
Yaccarino, a Manhattan media powerhouse known for her tough negotiating skills, could help Twitter rebuild trust among advertisers after it lost high-profile brands in 2020. She oversaw NBCUniversal’s advertising business, led the launch of Peacock as well as Comcast NBCUniversal’s global advanced video advertising capabilities for marketers.
Yaccarino has made strides to advance industry-wide adoption of new metrics to measure advertising performance and enhance viewer experiences, diversifying revenue streams through digital platforms like Apple News, Snapchat and YouTube and forging partnerships with these entities.
Friends say she is an understanding leader with strong empathy. According to them, her ability to understand both marketers and audiences sets her apart from her peers and could prove helpful as she undertakes the challenge of improving Twitter user metrics – particularly since its current ratings system relies heavily on user feedback that has often been criticised as inaccurate.
Investing in the Future of Work
Linda Yaccarino has earned herself a reputation as an innovative thinker who understands what CMOs need from their advertising partners. She’s taken an active part in driving change within her industry by championing new approaches for measuring advertising performance measurement, data analytics, and creating more unified sales teams rather than having multiple companies approach advertisers individually, according to her profile.
At NBCUniversal, Yaccarino manages a global team of 2,000-people that generated over $100 billion in ad sales under her direction, according to her company profile. She has also helped drive innovation within NBCUniversal through new ways of working as well as partnerships with Apple News, YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter.
Since Yaccarino became CEO of what was formerly Twitter, she has focused on convincing advertisers to return amid concerns that Elon Musk’s loosening of content restrictions and encouragement of hate speech has caused advertisers to withdraw. Reportedly she has called CEOs and CMOs from Coca Cola, Visa and State Farm brands like Coca Cola, Visa and State Farm and shared details on 2024 plans with them.
Putting People First
Yaccarino leads an international team of 2,000 employees at NBCUniversal that generates over $100 billion in ad sales each year, according to her company profile. Additionally, she has established partnerships with major media companies like Apple News, Buzzfeed and Snapchat.
She reportedly inspires loyalty and trust among her employees by treating them like family. At the same time, she does not hesitate to challenge the views of some within her organization.
In her interview in Miami Beach with Musk, she inquired into his tweeting habits around 3am. She suggested he “aspire” to tweet less after this hour but did not impose restrictions due to his commitment to free speech.
Yaccarino believes businesses can reap great rewards from collaboration and dedication to service. She suggests they share best practices and resources while working together for important causes, like Upwardly Global’s workforce development program for professional immigrants and refugees living in the US as an example.
