Elon Musk announced on Twitter that he has found a new chief executive to lead Twitter.
Musk did not name the site’s new boss but said “she” would start in six weeks, at which point he would become executive chairman and chief technology officer.
Two US media reports have speculated NBCUniversal’s head of advertising Linda Yaccarino to become chief executive of Twitter having being in talks with Musk. The Wall Street Journal and Variety cited people familiar with the matter.
He has been under pressure to focus on his other businesses and name someone else to lead the social media platform that he bought last year for $44bn (£35.2bn).
Last year, after Twitter users voted for him to step down in an online poll, he said: “No one wants the job who can
keep Twitter alive.”
However, although Musk had said he would hand over the reins, it was by no means clear when or even if it would happen.
Tesla shares rose after the announcement. Musk has previously been accused by shareholders of abandoning Tesla after his takeover of Twitter and damaging the car company’s brand.
Twitter did not comment on the reports. NBCUniversal did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.
It is sometimes difficult to know when the billionaire and owner of Twitter is being serious.
Last month, when the BBC asked Musk who was going to be boss of Twitter, he said he had made a dog Twitter’s leader.
But if Musk has indeed appointed a female executive, it would make her one of the few women to reach the top of a major technology company.
Women accounted for fewer than 10 percent of chief executives of tech firms included in America’s 500 biggest companies last year.
Although Musk has talked about paid subscribers to Twitter Blue, it is advertising that brings in the vast majority of revenue at Twitter.
The new boss will no doubt seek to improve relationships with advertisers and smooth their fears over content moderation.
Musk, a self-proclaimed free-speech absolutist, has said he took over Twitter to protect free speech. However, advertisers do not want their content next to misinformation or extremist content.
He purchased Twitter in October only after a lawsuit forced him to go through with the deal. Upon taking charge, Musk controversially fired thousands of staff in a bid to cut costs at the firm, which has struggled to be profitable.
In March, Musk said those efforts had paid off and the platform’s finances were improving.
And last month he told the BBC that most of the advertisers that had abandoned Twitter immediately after the acquisition had returned.
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