'She'll be starting in 6 weeks': Elon Musk says he has found new Twitter CEO, here's who

Elon Musk on Friday announced that he has found a new chief executive for Twitter but did not disclose the name. Musk said in a tweet that the new CEO for X/Twitter will be starting in about six weeks, and he will transition to the role of chief technology officer of the social media platform within the next few weeks.

The Wall Street Journal reported that talks were underway with Linda Yaccarino, an executive at Comcast's NBCUniversal, for the CEO role at Twitter. Elon Musk, who became the CEO of Twitter after completing the company's acquisition for $44 billion in October, had previously stated in December that he would step down from his CEO position once he found a suitable replacement. Musk added that he would oversee Twitter's software and server teams once he made the transition.

Other names being circulated

Musk previously did not disclose any potential candidates for the CEO position at Twitter, leaving room for speculations among tech and media insiders, as well as on Blind, an anonymous messaging app for tech employees.

According to one Twitter employee, conversations on Thursday suggested the possibility of former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer being a potential candidate. Other names that surfaced in discussions on Blind included former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Shivon Zilis, a top executive at Musk's brain-chip startup Neuralink.

Top female executives from Musk's other companies, such as SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm, could also be named, according to Jason Benowitz, senior portfolio manager at CI Roosevelt told Reuters.

Musk under fire

Musk, who has come under fire from investors in his Tesla electric car company as being distracted by his attention to Twitter, said he will transition to the role of Twitter's executive chair, along with the role of CTO, overseeing product, software, and sysops.

For a while now, Musk has been vocal about his plan to find a new CEO for Twitter. In fact, he conducted a Twitter poll in December, which showed that 57.5 per cent of users wanted him to step down as CEO of the social media platform. Musk wasted no time implementing his vision when he took over as owner in October. Within the first two weeks, he made significant changes, including the termination of Twitter's former CEO, Parag Agrawal, and other senior leaders, and a 50 per cent staff reduction in November.

Musk, who describes himself as a staunch supporter of "free speech," has previously stated that he acquired Twitter to prevent the platform from becoming a breeding ground for hate speech and divisiveness. He has also vowed to combat spam bots, an issue that he had previously clashed with Twitter's board over during the acquisition process. Musk recently disclosed in an interview that Twitter's financials were "roughly breaking even."

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