Linda Yaccarino insisted three weeks in the past that little had modified when billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk merged X, the social platform that she headed, with xAI, his synthetic intelligence group.
“I’m the CEO of X and my boss stays the identical,” she instructed the Monetary Instances in an interview on the Cannes promoting convention.
Lower than three weeks later, neither of these issues was true.
Yaccarino on Wednesday introduced she was stepping down from her function as chief govt after two years, noting X was “coming into a brand new chapter” with the tie-up with xAI.
Business insiders say Yaccarino was, in some ways, set as much as fail.
She was tasked with bringing again promoting {dollars} to a platform whose politically polarising proprietor had instructed manufacturers who didn’t spend with them to “go fuck themselves”.
Musk started heaping extra strain on Yaccarino and the pair didn’t gel, stated 4 individuals who labored with each of them. The billionaire’s blunt type clashed along with his deputy’s Madison Avenue polish.
“Sheryl [Sandberg] discovered the rhythm with Mark [Zuckerberg],” stated one of many individuals referring to the previous chief working officer of Meta and its CEO respectively. “Linda couldn’t discover the rhythm with Elon.”
She efficiently boosted X’s promoting enterprise. However as soon as Musk’s AI group xAI purchased X for $45bn in March, “she needed to query why she was there”, stated Brian Wieser of Madison & Wall, an promoting consultancy.
Given Musk’s hands-on, round the clock strategy to main X, Yaccarino by no means had the sort of management that almost all CEOs get pleasure from.
Over the previous six months, Musk had been distracted by his work with Donald Trump’s administration, which not too long ago led to a falling out with the US president.
Returning his sights to his companies in latest weeks, the billionaire entrepreneur began making unilateral selections at X — even inside the promoting enterprise that was the guts of Yaccarino’s function. His strikes typically blindsided her and her staff.
“Elon calls all of the pictures,” stated one promoting govt, who is aware of Yaccarino and Musk, arguing her tenure had turn into significantly untenable over the previous three months. “She tried to trip the tiger however was thrown off.”
Recognized within the business because the “Velvet Hammer”, Yaccarino joined X in 2023 after operating the promoting enterprise for NBCUniversal, the place she was famend for her full Rolodex and powerful relationships with international manufacturers.
She was given the duty of wooing again promoting {dollars} after manufacturers left in droves following Musk’s $44bn 2022 takeover of the platform — over issues about his unstable administration type and fears he was permitting poisonous content material to go unchecked.
Past promoting, she boosted X’s video options, clinched offers with creators and sports activities leagues, and developed X Cash, a digital pockets and peer-to-peer fee service that’s set to be launched later within the yr.
Yaccarino remained publicly loyal to Musk to the tip. However some who labored with them believed her expertise as a consummate salesperson harm her relationship with him.
Musk felt Yaccarino was not being absolutely clear in regards to the firm’s standing with advertisers, and put a gloss on actuality. He needed her to extra shortly restore the enterprise to monetary well being.
“He didn’t dig her type as a shiny, flashy Madison Avenue govt,” stated one one who labored with them each. “He desires to have an genuine dialog and never be bullshitted.”
Tensions flared a few yr in the past when Musk issued warnings to Yaccarino to speed up progress and quickly known as in longtime lieutenant Steve Davis to overview X’s funds and efficiency administration. The billionaire later employed former Tubi govt Mahmoud Reza Banki as chief monetary officer.
Banki reported on to Musk, chatting with him continuously, chopping out the chief govt, one individual stated. Yaccarino’s relationship with Banki shortly turned strained, stated a number of individuals conversant in the matter.
Yaccarino needed to allocate funds to content material creator funds and bolstering X’s promoting expertise, however Banki questioned her spending selections and was directing funding to different areas of the corporate, enacting monetary austerity, the individuals stated.
Musk’s relationship with Yaccarino was additionally rocked after she helped safe a content material deal in early 2024 with former CNN anchor Don Lemon that later blew up, in line with two individuals conversant in the matter. After agreeing to the deal, Lemon performed a contentious interview with Musk wherein he requested if he abused medication, infuriating the billionaire who then cancelled the partnership. Lemon is now suing Musk and X for breach of contract.
The strain took its toll on Yaccarino, stated a number of individuals who labored along with her, describing her as at occasions being tearful within the workplace.
Others observe her toughness: “She lasted two years in a job that may have crushed most individuals in two weeks,” stated one former colleague.
Yaccarino additionally received the hard-fought battle to haul some advertisers again to the platform.
One yr after Musk’s takeover, promoting had fallen about 50 per cent. Yaccarino turned on among the world’s greatest manufacturers by suing their commerce group in addition to a number of firms equivalent to Shell and Pinterest for anti-competitive behaviour. X accused them of an “unlawful boycott” of the platform.
Musk’s blossoming relationship with Trump added to the strain on manufacturers, which had began returning to X.
Market intelligence group Sensor Tower stated X has “exhibited renewed energy in its advertiser base” citing “massive and notable manufacturers” equivalent to Temu, Amazon, Apple, Google, Verizon and Dell among the many prime spenders on the platform within the US since January.
Analysis agency Emarketer tasks X’s income will improve to $2.3bn this yr, in contrast with $1.9bn a yr in the past. World gross sales in 2022, when Musk took over, have been $4.1bn.
Nevertheless, some advertisers have been resentful of Yaccarino’s strategies.
“To her credit score she did get advertisers again to X,” one longtime promoting govt stated. “She did it with a gun, however they got here again.”
Advertisers didn’t return “voluntarily or fortunately”, stated Wieser. For some, “it was higher to spend one thing” to keep away from an X authorized problem.
A number of advertising and marketing executives stated poisonous content material was not the one drawback. Yaccarino didn’t make X an efficient promoting platform that delivered a return on funding, they stated.
“You possibly can argue that she didn’t do sufficient to make the platform higher for promoting,” stated one promoting govt. “Many purchasers don’t promote on X not due to the content material, however as a result of it doesn’t carry out very properly.”
Nonetheless, Yaccarino seemed to be on a roll regardless of being financially constrained, and a few insiders have praised her legacy. “It was Linda’s drive and power and relentlessness that helped rebuild a few of these relationships,” the previous colleague stated.
Issues modified when Musk returned from his prolonged foray into politics.
“What saved her was the election and Elon diving deep into the administration, as a result of then he took his eye off X a bit,” stated one one who labored with them.
The merger with xAI got here as Musk turned his focus again to the corporate.
“Now that he’s again into his companies, he was by no means going to place her to be the top of an AI firm in any respect,” the individual stated.
In latest weeks, Musk took a number of unilateral selections round promoting, stated individuals conversant in the matter. He banned hashtags from adverts, and introduced X would cost manufacturers primarily based on vertical dimension. He additionally employed Nikita Bier, an entrepreneur and high-profile X person, as head of product.
Yaccarino thought Musk was not centered sufficient on security, a difficulty vital to her, in line with one individual conversant in the matter.
Yaccarino knowledgeable a choose few forward of time of her departure. This coincided with xAI’s Grok chatbot on Wednesday spewing antisemitic hate, though the 2 have been unrelated, in line with X employees.
X and Yaccarino declined to remark. Musk didn’t reply to a request for remark.
It’s unclear what comes subsequent for the promoting veteran. Generally known as a dedicated Republican, her unwavering assist for Trump and Musk shocked many promoting associates.
Her years-long defence of Musk may stand in the best way of a CEO function at one other media or leisure firm, in line with business insiders.
However the X function helped increase her connections in Washington.
She personally is aware of Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, who has helped dealer her relationship with the president, stated individuals conversant in the matter.
She can be shut buddies with Scott Turner, the present secretary of the Division of Housing and City Growth, and the director of intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. One longtime confidante stated Yaccarino remained strongly supportive of Trump regardless of his blow-up with Musk.
Some suspect her subsequent transfer could also be to take a job within the administration or as a free speech advocate. Yaccarino began sporting a diamond-studded necklace studying ‘Free Speech’ a few yr into her management of X.
Mike Benz, an official in Trump’s first administration who now runs a free speech watchdog, praised Yaccarino on X after her resignation.
“She stepped up for all of us within the face of what appeared like insurmountable strain from governments, advertisers, boycotters, banking establishments, and astroturfed lynch mobs,” he wrote. Yaccarino later shared the submit.
“Previous to X, she was on the Mount Rushmore of advert executives,” stated Lou Paskalis, chief govt of promoting consultancy AJL Advisory. “She doesn’t have to work, however she must exit in type. And I feel that’s what’s subsequent for her.”
Further reporting by Daniel Thomas