• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

Less than a year into his role as X’s advertising chief, John Nitti has left the company, according to a report from the Financial Times.

Originally hired in January as X’s global head of revenue operations and advertising innovation, Nitti was touted as a future successor to former X CEO and longtime ad executive Linda Yaccarino, who departed the social media company in July.

Along with Nitti and Yaccarino, other high-ranking X employees have recently stepped down from their roles at the company, including X CFO Mahmoud Reza Banki, who also left before completing a full year.

The Financial Times report describes ways in which X owner Elon Musk’s erratic business decisions are gradually frustrating executives, according to sources.

Since Musk took over Twitter in 2022, ultimately renaming the company “X,” the billionaire reduced the company’s workforce by 75%, and the pace at which employees have been expected to rebuild and compete with other social media and AI-developers is reportedly taking a major toll on the remaining staff. 

The social-media platform has faced a huge advertiser exodus due to Musk’s public decree regarding in-app “free speech” and the weakening of content moderation, as well as Musk's inflammatory and threatening verbal and written statements and remarks to brands. 

Due to the major decrease in ad revenue, the company is making efforts to push alternative revenue streams, such as selling subscriptions and inactive user handles. X and its owner xAI are also spending billions in an attempt to develop an artificial intelligence model. 

These rapid strategy decisions, in addition to the demand to boost ad revenue, are ultimately causing ad executives to leave the company, the report suggests.

Nitti has yet to issue a statement about his reported departure at X.