Linda Yaccarino is exiting X.
The former NBCUniversal exec who made headlines two years ago by jumping to X, formerly Twitter, after Elon Musk‘s $44 billion acquisition of the platform, announced her departure in a post.
“After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of X,” Yaccarino posted on X. “When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company. I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App.”
When Musk let slip that Yaccarino was coming aboard, during rehearsals for NBCU’s annual upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall no less, the news stunned her NBCU colleagues and the entire media industry. The financial shape of Twitter had never been particularly healthy, but the tumult of Musk’s acquisition, which was preceded by legal battles and resulted in thousands of job losses and chaos being unleashed on the platform, dragged down ad revenue.
Yaccarino also took heat for agreeing to take the controls as X rolled back content moderation and welcomed a host of disreputable users back after their accounts had been deactivated by the previous owners. She made matters worse in September 2023 with a problematic appearance at the Code conference, which spurred rumors that she would be ousted from the CEO role.
Here is Yaccarino’s full message:
