The first CEO of Twitter, now known as X, under Elon Musk said she has operational autonomy to run the business, while the tech titan can focus on the company’s products and long-term vision.
In an exclusive interview with CNBC on Thursday, CEO Linda Yaccarino said their respective roles are ‘very clear.’
‘Elon works on the technology and dreams up what’s next,’ she said. ‘I bring it to market.’
Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal executive, was announced as Twitter’s new CEO in May. Her hiring came shortly after she interviewed Musk at an industry event in Miami Beach.
She told CNBC’s Sara Eisen that X is focused on evolving into an ‘everything app’ that would include payment processing and video calls without the need for a phone number.
Since Yaccarino’s arrival, X has made a push to win back advertisers that reports have suggested have left the platform en masse. In particular, the company announced this month new ‘adjacency controls’ that let advertisers avoid having their tweets seen near ‘undesired keywords and handles.’
‘We believe free expression and platform safety are not at odds and we want to empower brands to join the conversation on their terms,’ Élyana Thierry, head of brand safety, wrote on X’s blog.
Since Musk completed his acquisition of the social media platform last fall, just 43% of advertisers have continued to pay for space on X, CNN reported. The New York Times also reported in June that X’s U.S. advertising revenue had fallen 59% year on year between April and May. NBC News has not independently verified these statistics.
