 "From X to ex: Is Elon Musk the reason why Linda Yaccarino quit as CEO?")
X, formerly known as Twitter, has been in the news ever since the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, purchased it in 2022. On Wednesday (July 9), this cycle continued when the platform’s chief executive officer, Linda Yaccarino, announced her resignation, just two years after she was hired for the position.
“After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of X,” Linda Yaccarino wrote.
Musk responded to the news with a brief message — “Thank you for your contributions.”
While Yaccarino hasn’t provided a reason for departing X, many noted the timing. In fact, she joins the growing list of high-profile executives who are stepping away from Musk’s business empire over the past few months.
Who is Linda Yaccarino?
Sixty-one-year-old Linda Yaccarino became a household name in 2023 when she was hired to be X’s chief executive officer. However, she didn’t start her career in the tech space. A liberal arts student, Yaccarino began her career with an internship at NBC Universal.
She then spent nearly 20 years at Turner, formerly known as Turner Broadcasting System, eventually rising up to the role of executive vice president/chief operating officer of advertising sales, marketing and acquisitions. Yaccarino worked there until late 2011.
Yaccarino then moved back to NBCU where she rose to become the company’s chairperson of global advertising and partnerships. She oversaw around 2,000 employees who produced more than $100 billion in ad sales.
In May 2023, Yaccarino announced that she had resigned from NBCU “effective immediately”. Notably, the same day she declared her resignation, Elon Musk announced the news of her hiring for X, writing: “@LindaYacc will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology.”
Why has Yaccarino resigned from X?
Yaccarino’s time at X was tumultuous to say the least. When she was brought in, X was facing a critical advertising downturn.
Moreover, she had to contend with several public relations crises brought on by none other than Elon Musk. For instance, a few months after hiring Yaccarino, Musk in a public appearance told advertisers to “go f**k yourself” and leave the platform after backlash to his promotion of an antisemitic post. Yaccarino defended his conduct and the company in interviews.
She also led the company as Musk turned his attention to politics and became US President Donald Trump’s first buddy. Musk led the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency’s (Doge) to trim the federal budget and workforce. This led to boycotts against his businesses, where people threatened to leave the social media platform and not buy Teslas.
However, Yaccarino hasn’t provided any single reason for her departure. In her message on X, she hailed the company’s turnaround, writing, “I’m incredibly proud of the X team — the historic business turn around we have accomplished together has been nothing short of remarkable.”
She further outlined, “We started with the critical early work necessary to prioritise the safety of our users — especially children, and to restore advertiser confidence. This team has worked relentlessly from groundbreaking innovations like Community Notes, and, soon, X Money to bringing the most iconic voices and content to the platform. Now, the best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter with @xai.
“X is truly a digital town square for all voices and the world’s most powerful culture signal. We couldn’t have achieved that without the support of our users, business partners, and the most innovative team in the world. I’ll be cheering you all on as you continue to change the world. As always, I’ll see you on X.”
However, people working in X note that her departure isn’t all that surprising owing the ongoing challenges the company continued to face from advertisers, the growing list of controversies dogging the platform and Musk’s way of operating.
For instance, her exit comes just a day after Grok — a chatbot developed by xAI that has been integrated directly into X — began making anti-semitic remarks in replies to user queries. Users reported that Grok declared that the best person to address anti-white hatred would be “Adolf Hitler, no question. He’d spot the pattern and handle it decisively, every damn time.” In another post, Grok wrote that “If calling out radicals cheering dead kids makes me ‘literally Hitler,’ then pass the moustache.”
Some also noted that Musk himself could be the reason for Yaccarino’s exit. Though the billionaire stepped down as the CEO of X, his influence on the platform didn’t wane. He often made controversial statements, leaving the X CEO on the back foot. “Being the CEO of X was always going to be a tough job, and Yaccarino lasted in the role longer than many expected,” Jasmine Enberg, vice president at research firm Emarketer, said to CNN. “Faced with a mercurial owner who never fully stepped away from the helm and continued to use the platform as his personal megaphone, Yaccarino had to try to run the business while also regularly putting out fires.”
Anne Marie Malecha, CEO of reputation and crisis management firm Dezenhall Resources, added that Musk is “one of those people that is willing to do whatever works for him during that day,” which could have put Yaccarino in a “very difficult position.”
What Yaccarino’s exit means for X and Musk?
Yaccarino’s exit from the social media platform could hurt its profitability. A year after she joined X, the Times reported that 65 per cent of advertisers had returned. Moreover, in August 2023, Yaccarino claimed that X’s operational run rate was close to “break even.” Furthermore, even though X’s audience continues to decline by a couple of per cent each year, it has not collapsed as many predicted.
Moreover, it comes at a time when Musk is involved in a feud with US President Donald Trump and has even launched his own new party — the America Party . These moves have led many to question Musk’s ability and his commitment to lead multiple companies.
Who will replace Yaccarino as new X CEO?
Following the news of Yaccarino’s exit, the company has not named any successor. In fact, Musk had quite a terse response to news: “Thank you for your contributions.”
But while the company hasn’t named a person to replace Yaccarino, the users on the platform had a suggestion: YouTube’s MrBeast . This stems from the fact that the famous YouTube personality had in 2022 asked on X if he could become the “new Twitter CEO.” At the time, Elon Musk posted, “It’s not out of the question.”
With inputs from agencies
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