About six months after his disputed takeover of social media giant Twitter, CEO Elon Musk has announced the appointment of a new CEO. The billionaire stated that former NBCUniversal head of advertising Linda Yaccarino will be in charge of the site's business operations in six weeks time, while he would continue to serve as executive chairman and CTO.
On Friday, Musk tweeted "looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app," he confirmed the choice a day after he had fuelled suspicion by saying that he had found a new boss without revealing their identity.
Mr Musk, who purchased the social networking site last year for $44bn, had been under pressure to find someone else to head the company so that he could devote more time to his other ventures, such as electric car manufacturer Tesla and rocket firm SpaceX.
Ms Yaccarino handled 2,000 employees at NBCUniversal and was instrumental in the rollout of the company's streaming service.
After 15 years at Turner Entertainment, she joined the organisation in 2011 and is credited with leading the network's ad sales into the digital age.
NBCUniversal seemed caught off guard by her departure. The company notified the media on Thursday that she was occupied with conference preparations, despite rumours to the contrary.
The business released a statement on Friday, saying "Linda has made countless contributions to the company during her 12-year tenure, and we wish her the best."
Ms Yaccarino's extensive experience in advertising, on which Twitter's revenue depends and which has plummeted since Mr Musk's takeover, will be an asset to the social media business.
"If Twitter are looking to monetise better than they have been, then that would be the place to start and Linda would be the ideal person to make that happen," Claire Atkinson, chief media correspondent at Business Insider, who has followed Yaccarino's career for two decades commented. "She's the kind of person that I can imagine Elon Musk needs. She won't be rolled over."
In the weeks after Musk assumed control, many major firms suspended spending on Twitter out of fear for the reputation of their brands under his leadership. Musk swiftly terminated thousands of employees, including those responsible for moderating abusive remarks.
Critics have warned that his changes to the service's authentication procedures, which include charging for blue ticks, will increase the prevalence of false information.
Despite "massive" revenue drops (at 89% since his takeover), Mr Musk told the BBC last month that businesses were beginning to return.
Yaccarino interviewed Musk at an advertising convention last month, and during their conversation, she brought up the difficulty of gaining the industry's trust.
"The people in this room are your accelerated path to profitability," she said. "But there's a decent bit of sceptics in the room.
"There's people who cannot separate, they're challenged by separating, the man, his opinions and the microphone he now owns."
