John Nitti has left his position as the advertising chief at X after just ten months. Nitti originally joined the company as the global head of revenue operations and advertising innovation. He was considered a potential successor to the former chief executive officer, Linda Yaccarino, who resigned in July.
His departure adds to a series of high-level exits from Elon Musk’s increasingly turbulent executive team. Among other recent departures, X’s chief financial officer Mahmoud Reza Banki left in October after less than a year. The chief financial officer and general counsel of xAI both also departed over the summer.
This revolving door for executives reportedly reflects deeper tensions within the company. Sources indicate that executives have grown frustrated with Musk’s abrupt strategy shifts and his unilateral decision-making. One example given was his decision to ban hashtags from advertising without first discussing the move with his own advertising team.
The pressure on advertising leadership has intensified as Musk directs billions of dollars into artificial intelligence development to compete with firms like OpenAI and DeepMind. While some brands have returned to the platform after a public dispute and xAI has secured partnerships with companies like Disney, other advertisers privately complain of feeling forced to advertise. This feeling emerged after X sued several brands, including Shell and Pinterest, for alleged boycotts.
Before his tenure at X, John Nitti had spent approximately nine years with Verizon and another long period of his career with American Express.