Yahoo News NBCU Ad-Sales Chief Linda Yaccarino Named Global Chair of Talent Agency YMU
Linda Yaccarino, who spends most of her day trying to sell advertisers on NBCUniversal commercial inventory, will take on a new task of trying to do something similar with actors and artists.
Yaccarino was named global chair of YMU, a British talent-management group, replacing Harvey Goldsmith, who left the company in 2021. Yaccarino will retain her role at NBCU, where she is global chairman of global advertising and partnerships.
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“Linda’s appointment shows the scale of ambition for the Group – her value, knowledge and expertise will enable us to deliver an even better service to our clients and turbo charge our international growth,’ said Mary Bekhait, YMU’s global CEO, in a statement.
In media and advertising circles, Yaccarino is known to have long held interest in other parts of the business, including distribution and content management. When CEO roles come open at companies like Univision or Paramount Global, allies and advocates often try to inject her name into conversations about potential candidates. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump named Yaccarino to serve a two-year term on the President’s Council on Sport, Fitness and Nutrition.
Her new role is unveiled just after NBCUniversal overhauled its advertising sales division, giving more responsibility to Mark Marshall, who will now lead all national sales efforts for the company and oversee its “upfront” advance ad-sales market.
During her time at NBCU, she has expanded her remit, creating nascent businesses in e-commerce and data that reflect the industry’s efforts to tamp down its reliance on traditional advertising as consumers move to broadband outlets and measuring their activity becomes more complex.
YMU represents Paris Hilton, Emily Ratajkowski and Steve Aoki, among others.
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