Twitter CEO and owner Elon Musk is set to hand over the reins of Twitter, announcing he’s hired Linda Yaccarino to be the new CEO of the social media platform.
In a tweet Friday, Musk said that Yaccarino, an outgoing NBCUniversal executive, “will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology.”
Musk had first tweeted that the new CEO would be a woman. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Yaccarino was the leading candidate.
With his tweet, Musk followed through on statements from February, where he said he would find a new Twitter CEO “by the end of the year” after ensuring Twitter is “in a financially healthy place.”
Musk’s upcoming departure also fulfills his promise to leave Twitter after he publicly lost a poll called, “Should I step down as head of Twitter?” in December 2022. About 10 million people voted “yes” in the poll.
The South African-born billionaire took over the social media platform in October for $44 billion. Soon after, he started massive staff layoffs, including across the firm’s operations in Europe. Musk’s actions — including demanding that employees commit to a “hardcore” corporate culture and deciding to reinstate banned accounts like that of the former U.S. President Donald Trump — have repeatedly provoked criticism.
This article has been updated.