4 months ago
31
Musk and Yaccarino were seen been trying to win back ad agency and brand leaders after major companies like Disney, IBM, and Apple paused their spending on the platform due to concerns over content moderation and Musk’s controversial leadership style read more
 "Tensions rising between Linda Yaccarino, Elon Musk, X CEO forced to reshuffle her team")
This leadership shake-up highlights the ongoing tensions between Musk and Yaccarino. Yaccarino has struggled to stabilize X’s financial health since Musk recruited her from NBCUniversal. Image Credit: Reuters, AFP
Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, has made some significant changes to her leadership team as she faces mounting pressure from Elon Musk to boost sales and cut costs. Just a year into her tenure, Yaccarino has fired Joe Benarroch, her right-hand man and head of business operations and communications, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Benarroch’s dismissal comes after he was held responsible for mishandling the rollout of the platform’s new adult content policy, failing to inform clients before the changes became public, according to two X employees, as reported by the Financial Times.
Nick Pickles, head of global government affairs, will temporarily take over Benarroch’s responsibilities, including overseeing all global communications.
Pickles, one of the few senior X staffers to remain after Musk’s takeover, attended the Cannes advertising festival alongside Yaccarino and Musk this week.
This reshuffle is seen as a significant boost for British-born Pickles, who previously ran for office as a Conservative MP in the UK before quickly rising through the ranks at X to manage public policy and government relationships, as per the FT report.
This leadership shake-up highlights the ongoing tensions between Musk and Yaccarino. Yaccarino has struggled to stabilize X’s financial health since Musk recruited her from NBCUniversal.
A senior staffer at X told FT that Yaccarino is increasingly anxious as Musk pressures her to increase revenues and reduce expenses. This has involved cutting staff from US and UK sales teams and reducing spending on travel and other expenses.
Some recent staff departures have been attributed to regular performance management reviews. In a recent meeting, Yaccarino emphasized a focus on “performance management,” according to insiders.
Simultaneously, Steve Davis, a long-time ally of Musk and CEO of his Boring Company, was brought in by Musk in April to review X’s finances and performance management. Davis has been assessing low performers and targeting dozens of jobs for cuts. His involvement is seen by some as indicative of ongoing concerns about the platform’s financial stability.
Davis, an aerospace expert, previously led a cost-cutting effort at X following its acquisition, making job cuts, reducing daily expenses, and renegotiating data licensing agreements. This led to speculation that he might be a contender for the CEO position after Musk’s acquisition of X, then known as Twitter.
In Cannes, Musk and Yaccarino were seen been trying to win back ad agency and brand leaders after major companies like Disney, IBM, and Apple paused their spending on the platform due to concerns over content moderation and Musk’s controversial leadership style. Executives at X claim that more than 60 per cent of brands that had paused advertising have resumed in some capacity in recent months.
One source familiar with the discussions between Musk and advertisers said X’s management is eager to assure brands that the platform is safe and to promote new features like video and targeted marketing.
However, advertising executives believe X is not currently among their preferred channels for advertisements, claims the FT report.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
English (US) ·