TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Elon Musk said on Thursday, May 11, he has found a new chief executive for Twitter but did not name the person, while the Wall Street Journal reported that Comcast (CMCSA.O) NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino was in talks for the job.
Musk said in a tweet: "Excited to announce that I've hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!"
Musk said he will transition to the role of chief technology officer of the social media platform within the next few weeks.
Musk, who took over as CEO of Twitter when he completed his $44 billion purchase of the company in October, said in December that he would step aside as CEO once he found "someone foolish enough to take the job." He said that he would then run Twitter's software and server teams.
The WSJ cited people familiar with the situation in saying that Yaccarino was in talks for the top post.
Reuters reported after Musk's tweet that Yaccarino could be his choice to lead Twitter, according to a Silicon Valley executive and a former Hollywood executive who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Yaccarino, the top advertising sales executive at NBCUniversal, interviewed Musk at an advertising conference in Miami last month. Yaccarino did not respond to calls seeking comment.
When asked for comment, an NBCUniversal spokesperson said, "Linda is in back-to-back rehearsals for the Upfront," referring to a presentation NBCUniversal will host for advertisers in New York on Monday.
Yaccarino's exit would be another big blow to the company after Comcast said last month that NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell was leaving after acknowledging an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, following a complaint that prompted an investigation.
Musk has previously not named any prospective candidates. Speculation was rife on Thursday among tech and media insiders and on Blind, an anonymous messaging app for tech employees.
Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer was suggested in conversations between Twitter employees on Thursday, according to one staffer.
Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and a top executive at Musk's brain-chip startup Neuralink, Shivon Zilis, were also among the names being discussed by Twitter employees on Blind, according to a former employee who viewed the comments.
Top female executives from Musk's other companies, such as SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chair Robyn Denholm, could also be named, according to Jason Benowitz, senior portfolio manager at CI Roosevelt.
REUTERS
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