Elon Musk is in talks to hire Linda Yaccarino, the chair of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, as chief executive of Twitter, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The talks are at an advanced stage, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the conversations are confidential. Ms. Yaccarino has been in discussions with Mr. Musk for weeks, they said. Last month, Ms. Yaccarino interviewed Mr. Musk onstage at an advertising event in Miami.
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In Ms. Yaccarino, Twitter would get an executive with deep ties to the advertising industry and with extensive experience in the media sector. Ms. Yaccarino, whose star has risen over the course of a long career at NBCUniversal, has personal relationships with most of the chief executives of the advertising holding companies, a key constituency for Twitter.
She has moved in the top echelons of the advertising world for years, overseeing a sprawling team that has brokered major marketing partnerships, helped develop NBC Universal’s streaming options, criticized outdated industry practices and generated more than $100 billion in advertising sales. She has been heavily involved in the network’s dealings with marquee events such as the Super Bowl and the Olympic Games. She is also a reliable presence at glittering advertising events, such as the Cannes Lions festival in the South of France.
The conversations about Twitter’s chief executive come at a delicate time for Ms. Yaccarino, who is slated to address NBCUniversal’s biggest clients next week in the upfronts, an annual pitch to woo advertisers.
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