Linda Yaccarino, an advertising sales executive, is well-liked in her field. At Twitter, will that be sufficient?
Why would a person want to leave a lucrative position as head of advertising at one of the biggest media companies in America to take a chance running Twitter, a social media platform with a spotty track record and a notoriously erratic owner?
Lou Paskalis, a seasoned marketer and longtime friend of Linda Yaccarino, has a hypothesis.
He describes her as fierce, shrewd, and ambitious, adding that she "really likes to be superwoman.". He claims that she would jump at the chance to intervene. and declare, "I can fix this".
Therefore, the question arises, can she?
The social network had issues even before Elon Musk, a billionaire, took control of it last year.
The business has struggled to break even, turning a profit only twice since its launch in 2006 despite harsh criticism from both the left and right for how it handles hate speech and misinformation.
Users' growth or revenue growth have both been unevenly distributed.
Since Mr. Musk took control of the platform last year, the problems have only gotten worse.
He changed the way the company verifies genuine accounts, cut 75% of its former employees, including teams responsible for tracking abuse, and sparked controversy with his own conspiracy-theorizing tweets.
Advertisers have largely stopped running ads, and users also seem skeptical. According to a recent Pew survey, six out of ten US adults—Twitter's largest user base—were taking a break, and a quarter said they did not plan to use the app in a year.
Even Elon Musk appears intimidated by the difficulties; his $44 billion purchase last year was only completed under threat of legal action. He has made light of the fact that only the "foolish" would desire the chief executive title from him.
Here comes Ms. Yaccarino, a 60-year-old native of New York who holds a degree in communications from Penn State.
The daughter of a police officer, who was raised in an Italian-American family, has advanced through the ranks of some of the largest media companies in the US. She has developed a reputation as a well-heeled and tenacious executive who has assisted in guiding entertainment giant NBCUniversal through the upheaval brought on by the rise of the tech giants.
At NBCU, the parent company of companies like NBC News, Focus Features, and Bravo, Ms. Yaccarino overhauled the ad sales department, pushed the release of the company's ad-supported streaming service Peacock for 2020, and spearheaded discussions about data gaps as audiences migrated online.
The grandmother-to-be and mother-of-two, who went on a blind date with her husband Claude Madrazo, was rumored to be looking for a promotion after ten years as chairman of global partnerships and advertising at NBCU.
She was widely rumored to be interested in Twitter, particularly after she defended Elon Musk at a conference last year, pleading with skeptic advertisers to "give the guy a minute.".
She tweeted shortly after the announcement of her new position, "I've long been inspired by your vision to create a brighter future. "I'm excited to work with Twitter to transform this company and realize this vision.".
According to Mr. Paskalis, CEO of AJL Advisory, by hiring Ms. Yaccarino, Mr. Musk has "purchased trust" from advertisers.
In fact, GroupM, a major player in the market and the representative of companies like Coca-Cola and Nestle, has already stated that it believes the platform to be less dangerous.
It will be a difficult task to get Twitter's business back on track.
According to longtime media analyst and principal at consultancy Madison and Wall, Brian Wieser, large ad buyers are eager to have options besides the tech behemoths, but the platform is still too small to be a must-buy.
Along with advertising, she will have to deal with a number of urgent problems, such as regulatory scrutiny of Twitter's hate speech and privacy controls, lawsuits from landlords, vendors, and former employees over unpaid bills, user complaints, and simple technical issues, such as the issues that derailed the prominent interview with Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis that was hosted on the site.
The biggest unknown factor is, of course, Mr. Musk, who has stated his intention to stay involved at the location and supervise products and technology.
According to Mr. Wieser, "Anyone taking this job has been set up to fail – it's not specific to her.". "The question is whether or not her chances are more likely to succeed than any other option. And yes, in reality, the chances are better. ".
Friends and former coworkers claim that it is expected that Ms. Yaccarino will use her experience in television to develop the platform's ad business and increase the use of video everywhere on the website.
She described Elon Musk's plan for Twitter as a "great opportunity" for marketers because it would serve as the foundation for an "everything app" that would offer messages, payments, and other features.
The founder and CEO of Brightline, a tech company that specializes in streaming advertisements and has partnered with NBCU, Jacqueline Corbelli, claims that "[she has] the guts and the courage to take big swings.".
"She will bring the ability to integrate what has worked in the past and blend that with what advertisers are going to be looking for to restore trust in Twitter, if Twitter gives her the space to do it. ".
There is still a big if regarding Ms. Yaccarino's ability to move around.
She may soon run into the phenomenon known as the "glass cliff," which occurs when women only rise to positions of authority during the most dangerous times, according to some commentators.
Recently, Ms. Yaccarino responded to such analysis on Twitter with, "Let's be clear: I don't teeter. I'm used to wearing 4 inch heels.".
Ms. Yaccarino pressed Mr. Musk to clarify what Twitter's "freedom of speech, not freedom of reach" meant and how it differed from policies at other companies at an industry conference prior to her appointment. Her politics have been described as conservative but not ideological. .
Additionally, she asked Elon Musk if he would limit his own tweeting, but she received little firm commitment in return, at least publicly.
According to him, "I'll say what I want even if it costs me money," he recently told CNBC.
According to friends, Ms. Yaccarino is taking the risks of her new position with clarity. She has said that "patience and wine" are her go-to tactics for dealing with challenging coworkers.
Linda is not afraid, according to Shelley Zallis, CEO of the Female Quotient, an organization that works to advance women in the workplace and who Ms. Yaccarino has called a "soul sister.".
"Linda is fearless and fierce, and Linda seeks a solution. She genuinely is someone who will unite the sector and advance advancement.
. "
