NBCUniversal announced Friday that its head of advertising, Linda Yaccarino, is leaving her post “effectively immediately” as the long-tenured executive reportedly engages in advanced talks with Elon Musk to take over as the next CEO of Twitter.
Yaccarino’s departure from NBCUniversal was confirmed in a press release one day after Musk cryptically announced he had hired a female executive who “will be starting in ~6 weeks.”
“It has been an absolute honor to be part of Comcast NBCUniversal and lead the most incredible team,” Yaccarino said in a statement.
“We’ve transformed our company and the entire industry—and I am so proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and grateful to my colleagues and mentors, especially Brian Roberts, Mike Cavanagh and the entire NBCU leadership team.”
Shortly after Musk posted his announcement on Twitter, the Wall Street Journal reported that Yaccarino was in talks with the billionaire. An NBCU executive for more than a decade, Yaccarino played a major role in the launch of the company’s ad-supported streaming service, Peacock.
In place of Yaccarino, NBCUniversal said Mark Marshall, its current president of ad sales and client partnership, would serve of interim chairman of the company’s advertising and partnerships group.
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