Linda Yaccarino’s onstage appearance with Elon Musk at a recent marketing conference in Miami Beach amounted to a job interview that eventually netted her the role of Twitter’s latest chief executive, in line with one observer who noted the “chemistry” between the 2.
Yaccarino, the top of promoting sales for NBCUniversal who has agreed to step in as Twitter CEO, peppered Musk with questions on his stewardship of the social media company throughout the April 18 “Possible” summit.
“There was chemistry there,” Lou Paskalis, the CEO of promoting consultancy firm AJL Advisory who has been a client of Yaccarino’s for 35 years, told Fortune.
Yaccarino was picked to interview Musk as a part of a chat that was headlined “Twitter 2.0: From Conversations to Partnership.”
During their chat, Yaccarino referred to Musk as her “buddy.” She also admitted to being “obsessed” and “fascinated” by Musk’s acquisition and takeover of Twitter.
The Miami Beach confab was seen as Musk’s try and make peace with advertisers who were spooked by his newly implemented policies on content moderation that were put in place after the Tesla mogul acquired the social media site for $44 billion last October.
Observers noted that Yaccarino didn’t hold back and asked Musk tough questions on his tweeting habits.
“I actually have to push you a bit because there’s numerous folks on this room, they vote with their pocketbooks,” Yaccarino told Musk on April 18.
She pressed Musk on his tweets through which he expressed disdain for “cancel culture” and mocked pronouns utilized by transgender and non-binary individuals.
Yaccarino told Musk that advertisers who were in attendance in Miami Beach were “holding back” from doing business on Twitter.
“What do you say to them on this room?” Yaccarino asked Musk, who replied that his tweets ought to be viewed as “sarcastic” or a “joke.”
At one other point within the interview, Yaccarino grilled Musk about his late-night tweeting habits.
“You’ve said you almost certainly shouldn’t tweet after 3 a.m.,” Yaccarino said.
“Will you commit to being a bit more specific and never tweet after 3 a.m.?”
Those that know Yaccarino described her as a “tough” Italian woman — a “Long Island lady” — who “can each encourage and terrify” her employees.
Yaccarino reportedly inspires loyalty and confidence from her most devoted subordinates — who in turn are rewarded by being invited to intense SoulCycle sessions, in line with Fortune.
Her critics allege that she shows favoritism to the staff that she likes by rewarding them with promotions although they weren’t deserving.
One source told Fortune that she developed sharp elbows in a male-dominated industry, enabling her to rise through the ranks at NBC.
“She stood as much as numerous misogyny. She stood as much as numerous men,“ one source who worked along with her told Fortune.
“There’s nothing demure about her.”
Yaccarino can be reportedly known for her staunchly pro-Republican political beliefs.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump appointed her to his President’s Council on Sport, Fitness, and Nutrition.
But Paskalis told Fortune that Yaccarino keeps her views “fairly private.” He also predicted that she will probably be a force of moderation who will show more restraint in comparison with the freewheeling Musk.
”She’ll probably give you the chance to temper [Musk’s] enthusiasm for extreme commentary, but introduce more balance,” Paskalis said.
