NBCU Names Mark Marshall Interim Ad Sales Chair With Linda Yaccarino Headed to Twitter

On the eve of NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation Monday, Mark Marshall has been named interim chairman, global advertising and partnerships, replacing Linda Yaccarino, who is leaving NBCU and is Elon Musk's choice to replace him as CEO of Twitter.

Musk at midday confirmed in a tweet that he had hired Yaccarino, She  "will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology," he said. "Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app."

Marshall, who had been president of ad sales and partnerships, will report to Mark Lazarus, chairman, NBCU Television and Streaming.

“We are grateful for Linda Yaccarino’s leadership of NBCUniversal’s Advertising Sales business, and for the innovative team and platform she has built. Linda has made countless contributions to the company during her 12-year tenure, and we wish her the best,” Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said. 

Cavanagh was put in charge of NBCU after Jeff Shell was dismissed for having an inappropriate relationship with a CNBC anchor.

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“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.”

Marshall joined NBCU in 2013, following Yaccarino from Turner Broadcasting System. He was named president at NBCU advertising sales in 2018.