Linda Yaccarino

Linda Yaccarino (born December 21, 1963) is an American media executive. She previously held the position of chairman of global advertising & partnerships for NBCUniversal. In June 2023, Yaccarino succeeded Elon Musk as the chief executive officer of X Corp.
Early life and education
Yaccarino grew up in Deer Park, New York. She graduated from Pennsylvania State University's Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications in 1985.
Career
Yaccarino worked at Turner Entertainment for 15 years, becoming executive vice president and chief operating officer. She is credited with modernizing the company's ad sales strategies.
Yaccarino joined NBCUniversal in October 2011. As the head of NBCUniversal's advertising sales, she played a key role in the launch of the Peacock streaming service.
Yaccarino joined the Ad Council in 2014. Yaccarino assumed the position of chair of the Ad Council's board of directors in January 2021, for a term that ran until June 30, 2022. As chair, Yaccarino partnered with the Biden administration in 2021 to create a coronavirus vaccination campaign that featured Pope Francis.
In 2018, President Donald Trump appointed her to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.
Yaccarino resigned from NBCUniversal on May 12, 2023, and on the same day Elon Musk announced that Yaccarino would be the new chief executive officer of X Corp. and Twitter. Yaccarino had long expressed an interest in Twitter. On three occasions while at NBCUniversal, Yaccarino proposed that Comcast executives buy Twitter outright. Early conversations around a potential $3 billion offer never resulted in a deal.
Fortune and The New Republic described Yaccarino as a former Trump appointee who follows a number of conspiracy theorist and far-right accounts on Twitter. On her appointment, the Financial Times noted that Yaccarino's previous work with the World Economic Forum had earned backlash from some "more conspiracy-minded Musk fans" who distrusted international political organizations; Musk, a harsh critic of the WEF, reassured fans that Yaccarino's links to the organization would not harm his self-proclaimed commitment to free speech on Twitter.
During Musk's and Yaccarino's leadership, the platform has been noted for a surge in hate speech. This led at least two brands to suspend advertising on Twitter.
Throughout her tenure at X, Yaccarino has been criticized as a CEO in name only, undermined by Musk's presence and behavior. Upon her appointment, experts were concerned Yaccarino's role would be an example of the glass cliff. Yaccarino has said the implication that she had not earned her role saddened her, stating "I literally went to the business world not even knowing being a woman was a thing."
Personal life
Yaccarino and her husband, Claude Madrazo, have two children and one grandchild. They live in Sea Cliff, New York. She is Catholic.
References
External links
1963 births
Living people
People from Deer Park, New York
Businesspeople from New York (state)
American people of Italian descent
American women chief executives
NBCUniversal people
Turner Broadcasting System people
Twitter, Inc. people
Pennsylvania State University alumni
20th-century American businesswomen
20th-century American businesspeople
21st-century American businesswomen
Place of birth missing (living people)
Catholics from New York (state)