Penn State graduate Linda Yaccarino is stepping down as CEO of X after two years in the position. She announced her departure via a post on X on July 9, but gave no further explanation for her decision.

After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of 𝕏.

When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, 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…

— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) July 9, 2025

Yaccarino was hired by Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), in 2023, a few months after he bought the company for $44 million.

During her time as CEO, Yaccarino worked to bring advertisers back to the site and repair business relationships previously affected by policy changes under Musk. She was a staunch defender of Musk’s decisions and helped transform the app into more than just a social media, per Musk’s visions.

Yaccarino graduated from Penn State in 1985, with a degree from the Bellisario College of Communications in telecommunications. Before X, she worked her way to the top of the advertising world, serving as the chairman for NBCUniversal’s global advertising department. With this expertise in mind, Musk gave her leadership over X’s business operations, and she worked to keep companies from pulling their spending from the site.

Her announcement comes amidst X entering a new era with xAI, Elon Musk’s new artificial intelligence company. In her departure post, Yaccarino said of xAI, “Now, the best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter with @xai.” The company has already received negative feedback for its artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, which has been accused of responding to users with racist and antisemitic comments.

Currently, Elon Musk’s only public comment on Yaccarino’s departure was a reply to her post in which he said, “Thank you for your contributions.”

Yaccarino has yet to comment on her future plans after X.