After Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter, a host of major advertisers walked away as warning bells sounded over a lack of content moderation and the billionaire’s erratic leadership. The fallout: a serious black hole in the company’s finances. According to Musk, losing those advertisers wiped 50 per cent off Twitter’s $5 billion annual revenues. In an attempt to bring them back into the fold, he appointed former NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino as CEO. Known as the “velvet hammer” for her dealmaking in the ad industry, Yaccarino has reportedly told staff they need to engage in “hand-to-hand combat” to get the company back on track. Her grand plan: re-boost the advertising, partnerships and sales team after major staff cuts, bring in video ads, take advantage of generative AI and rebuild press relationships. She has a long road ahead of her.
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