Linda Yaccarino, Chief Executive Officer of X and a close associate of owner Elon Musk, has announced her departure from the company two years after joining the social media platform, AFP reported.

In a post on X, Yaccarino (61) wrote: “When @elonmusk first shared his vision for X with me, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company. I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me.” She did not state a reason for her resignation.

Her departure marks the end of a tumultuous period for X, which was radically transformed by Musk after he acquired it for $44 billion in 2022. Since then, he has laid off three-quarters of the company’s staff, relaxed the platform’s speech restrictions, and used X as a political megaphone. Advertisers withdrew, and the company’s advertising business suffered significant losses.

In March, Musk announced that he had sold X — a privately held company — to his artificial intelligence startup xAI in an unusual deal that reflects the complex financial maneuvering within his business empire. The all-stock deal valued xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion. It was later revealed that xAI is in talks to raise new funding that could increase its valuation to $120 billion.

Frequent leadership changes are not uncommon at Musk’s companies, which include Tesla and The Boring Company. An exception is Gwynne Shotwell, President of SpaceX, who is among the few long-serving top executives.

Musk brought Yaccarino to X in May 2023, when the platform was still known as Twitter, with the hope that she would manage the company’s business operations. She came with extensive experience in the media and advertising sectors, holding a senior position at NBCUniversal at the time.

Upon taking the role, her mission was clear: to restore damaged relationships with users, employees, and advertisers after Musk implemented changes that led to widespread fallout. Part of her role also involved “managing” Musk himself — a challenge often made difficult by his impulsive nature. He did not hesitate to use profanity against advertisers or clash with foreign governments demanding the removal of certain accounts.

Nonetheless, Yaccarino maintained a publicly optimistic tone and established herself as something of a “chief morale officer” within the company. She preserved X’s image in the advertising world even as Musk shifted priorities — including through a rebranding that removed Twitter’s name and logo.

The platform gained new momentum last year when Donald Trump won the presidential election. Some advertisers returned, drawn by Musk’s proximity to the new president. During her tenure, Yaccarino claimed that more than 96% of the platform’s major advertisers had resumed their spending there. | BGNES