Linda Yaccarino steps down as X CEO

X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced in a July 9 post that she was stepping down as chief executive of Musk's social network.Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Vox MediaLinda Yaccarino announced she is stepping down as CEO of X.She spent two years leading the Elon Musk-owned social platform, which included a challenging advertiser exodus.Yaccarino, previously an executive at NBCUniversal, hasn't announced what she plans to do next.The CEO of Elon Musk's social network is stepping down.Linda Yaccarino announced on Wednesday morning that she is exiting the top job at X."I'm incredibly proud of the X team - the historic business turn around we have accomplished together has been nothing short of remarkable," Yaccarino wrote on X.After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of 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…— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) July 9, 2025 Musk later thanked Yaccarino "for your contributions" in a reply to her announcement. Musk has yet to name her replacement.Yaccarino spent two years leading X, formerly named Twitter, and was appointed to the position after Musk said he would step back from leading the social network.Musk's hiring of Yaccarino was widely heralded at the time by the advertising industry as a smart move. Yaccarino had built up a solid reputation in the business during her time at NBCUniversal for her charismatic-yet-tough sales tactics, and for holding Big Tech platforms' feet to the fire over issues like ad measurement.Ad industry insiders were hopeful she could bring calm to the chaos that ensued after Musk's takeover of Twitter, which saw a series of rapid-fire changes to the platform, including renaming it to X one month after she joined.The CEO quickly found herself navigating multiple controversies as she looked to win over advertisers — and keep them from trimming or stopping their spending.After Musk loosened moderation rules on the platform, major companies from IBM to Apple to Disney pulled ads from X following reports they were being displayed next to pro-Nazi posts as well as Musk responding in agreement to a post that said Jewish people were pushing "hatred against whites."In November 2023, Musk defiantly told advertisers leaving the platform "to go f— yourself" if they thought "blackmailing" him would change his views.Yaccarino later said Musk's comments were an "explicit point of view about our position."In March, Elon Musk announced that his AI startup, xAI, had acquired X in an all-stock deal at $33 billion."xAI and X's futures are intertwined," the Tesla CEO wrote at the time.Yaccarino looked to convince advertisers to get back to spending on XLinda Yaccarino speaking at an event. Isaac Brekken/Variety/Penske Media via Getty ImagesUnder Yaccarino's leadership, advertisers were beginning to return to the platform.A Mediaradar analysis found that while X's revenues declined in 2024, the number of advertisers on the platform increased by 15%. Apple bought ads in February, its first since 2023.During her tenure, X also went on the offensive against some advertisers who had slowed or stopped their spending on the platform.Last summer, X sued several major advertisers, including Mars and Lego, alleging their participation in an ad industry initiative called the Global Alliance for Responsible Media had amounted to an illegal boycott, which contravened US antitrust laws. The defendants denied the allegations and said the lawsuit was instead "an attempt to use the courthouse to win back the business X lost in the free market when it disrupted its own business and alienated many of its customers." The case is ongoing.X has also stepped up its focus on original video. Tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams are set to launch a video podcast on the platform in August.It remains to be seen how Musk will direct the platform going forward. Tesla, the biggest prize of his sprawling empire, has faced back-to-back quarters of declining vehicle sales amid backlash over Musk's political activities. Some analysts are increasingly worried about Musk's focus after his apparent launch of the America Party, a third-party that he formed after his public falling out with President Donald Trump.Musk's changes to the platform continue to pose potential challenges for X's relationship with advertisers.Hours before Yaccarino announced her exit, Grok, X's AI chatbot, was posting antisemitic rants after a "politically incorrect" update was applied to the AI at the direction of Musk. Grok later said its posts were an "epic sarcasm fail."Later, Grok's X account posted a more official statement."We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts," Grok's account posted late Tuesday night. "Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X."AI experts have previously said that Grok is a solid contender in the AI race, though it has lagged behind OpenAI.Read the original article on Business Insider

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