News May 15, 2023
New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino Needs to Repair Damage by Elon Musk, Expert Says
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Elon Musk announced on Friday that Linda Yaccarino will be assuming his role as CEO of Twitter.
He wrote, “I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter! @LindaYacc will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology. Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app.”
She responded on the platform, writing, “Thank you @elonmusk! I’ve long been inspired by your vision to create a brighter future. I’m excited to help bring this vision to Twitter and transform this business together!”
Many headlines surrounding the news focused on Yaccarino being a “female CEO,” but leadership expert Dominique Farnan, who is CEO and Chief Conscious Connector at Dot Connect LLC, says the news shouldn’t be focused on gender.
“Why are we still leading with ‘female CEO’?” Farnan asked. “Aside from gender orientation, what is the difference between a CEO and a female CEO? As a female founder myself, I find it insulting when people lead with ‘female CEO’ or ‘she-EO’ or ‘boss babe’ or any other remark that makes my role sound ‘cutesy’ or less than what it is.”
Farnan pointed out that 10 percent of Fortune 500 companies are led by women.
“For a long time, the number hovered around 8 percent. By January 1, 2023, with the appointment of five new Fortune 500 chief executives the number of female CEOs increased to 53.”
Farnan advised the impending CEO to focus on “relationship repair across the organization.”
“Musk came in like a bull in a China shop and shook up the organization since the acquisition in October. Repair is the key to any healthy relationship dynamic and as a newly appointed CEO in an organization on Twitter, it would benefit the culture tremendously to have a leader who can mend the damage Musk may have caused.”
Musk will still hold an executive position in the company, noting that he will transition to executive chair and CTO, where he will oversee product, software, and sysops.
TMX contributed to this story.
