The former NBC global executive is about to take up the post of Twitter CEO, and his former subordinates will also join Twitter.
Linda Yaccarino, former advertising director of NBC Universal, is expected to take over as Twitter CEO on Monday local time, according to people familiar with the matter. Meanwhile, Yakarino has hired one of her top lieutenants from NBC Universal.
Joe Benarroch, a former executive vice president of communications, global advertising and partnerships at NBC Universal, is reported to have been involved. Yakarino has been in charge of ad sales at NBC Universal for years, and Bennarock has been one of her most trusted advisers.
"Tomorrow (Monday local time), I will be embarking on a different career adventure at Twitter, taking on a position focused on business operations," Benarock wrote in the memo sent Sunday. "He noted that he had worked with Yakarino to support and develop the company's business priorities and help build partnerships, among other things. Benarock said: "I look forward to bringing my experience to Twitter and working with the entire team to build Twitter 2.0. "
Twitter CEO Elon Musk has previously said Yakarino will focus primarily on business operations, while he will focus on product design and technology.
Neither Twitter nor Musk responded to requests for comment.
Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last year, but has struggled to stabilize the company's business as many advertisers, unhappy with his way of censoring content, have either left Twitter or cut spending. Musk has made various efforts to encourage advertisers to return. Ad executives say mr yakarino's deep connections in the advertising industry could help achieve that goal.
Benarock's addition comes amid changes at the top of Twitter in recent days. Twitter reportedly lost two key executives last week, Ella Irwin, Twitter's director of trust and security who handles content review decisions, and A. J. Brown, Twitter's director of brand security and ad quality.
The executives decided to leave in part because of controversy over Twitter's handling of a film about gender issues.
Twitter relies on advertising for most of its revenue. Assuring advertisers that the platform is safe for them and that their brands won't be tied to objectionable content is key to attracting them back. Twitter has been promoting new tools in recent months that allow brands to monitor and control where their ads appear. Some advertisers are optimistic about the effectiveness of these initiatives.
In May, Musk told the CEO Council Summit hosted by The Wall Street Journal that Twitter is not very profitable yet, but will soon achieve positive cash flow growth, i.e., turn a profit.
