Twitter’s new boss pledges shake-up

Twitter’s new chief-executive has pledged to ‘transform’ the social media company alongside owner Elon Musk, as it battles an exodus of advertisers and a heavy debt load.

Linda Yaccarino, who takes on the top job in six weeks, said she was excited to ‘transform this business together’ with Musk, who bought Twitter six months ago for $44billion (£38.1billion).

The 59-year-old advertising veteran acknowledged her appointment for the first time in a tweet over the weekend and said she would ‘create a brighter future’.

Yaccarino said: ‘Thank you Elon Musk. I’ve long been inspired by your vision to create a brighter future. I’m excited to help bring this vision to Twitter and transform this business together!’

She added: ‘I’m not as prolific as [Elon Musk] (yet!), but I’m just as committed to the future of this platform’.

Twitter users’ feedback was ‘vital’ to the future, according to a second tweet from Yaccarino. ‘I’m here for all of it’, she said.

The company will hope NBCUniversal’s former head of advertising will be able to woo back some of the 500 major advertisers who have reportedly paused spending on the platform since Musk’s takeover last October.

Yaccarino played a big role in the launch of NBCUniversal’s ad-supported streaming service, Peacock, as well as overseeing the NBC and Comcast merger that created NBCUniversal.

Last week Musk, who is also the boss of electric car maker Tesla, said the new boss would ‘focus primarily on business operations’, leaving him to ‘focus on product design and new technology’ as executive chair and chief technology officer.

Musk is keen to turn Twitter into ‘the everything app’ for users. Paolo Pescatore, technology analyst at PP Foresight, said: ‘Twitter needs stability and must restore confidence.

‘The appointment of Yaccarino shows a clear desire to drive ad revenue. Driving usage towards one destination will increase engagement.’

He added: ‘By having a better sense of users’ habits, expect to see more hyper personalised services, features and offers.’

Turning Twitter into a ‘super app’ would help it reap the rewards of business models including subscription, tiered pricing deals and adverts.

Analyst Dan Ives at wealth manager Wedbush also said: ‘This will be an Everest-like uphill battle to monetise Twitter but now the strategy will be laid out and implemented.’