After stepping down from X in 2025, Yaccarino has reflected on what she learnt from working with one of the world’s most prominent tech entrepreneurs.
One particular trait, she says, stood out during her time alongside him.
His expectation is to move immediately, whether the task involves a new product or a major project. Instead of getting caught up in processes, it encourages them to identify what really matters and focus on the most important parts of a challenge. The platform also underwent major workforce changes and faced continued scrutiny over issues including misinformation, hate speech and bots. Her career before X had largely been in media. She spent decades at companies including NBCUniversal, eventually overseeing a major advertising business before making the unexpected move into tech. Yaccarino has carried that willingness to embrace difficult challenges into the next stage of her career. She is now CEO of health-tech company eMed. Speaking about the future of work, she advised younger workers not to simply focus on becoming better at tasks that technology can increasingly perform. (Also Read: Chinese runner caught riding bicycle during marathon, dropped by sponsor: ‘I feel deeply guilty’ ) Instead, she highlighted skills such as empathy, decision-making and the ability to combine creativity with analytical thinking.
Yaccarino resigned as X CEO in July 2025. Because it feels comfortable, her broader advice is to avoid choosing the easiest path simply.
“The reason his companies are singular in what they deliver is because of the insatiable sense of urgency,” Yaccarino told Fortune . Musk’s approach is not simply about working towards a deadline, according to the former X CEO. “There’s not a deadline for a project or to ship something, a product, it’s now,” she said. (Also Read: US Marine accused of killing arrested in Japan: 5 times American Marines landed in trouble abroad ) Yaccarino believes this approach also pushes people to look at problems differently. “A lot of people talk about first principles, but that’s what it forces you to do,” she added. Despite the difficulties, she said challenging periods in a career can eventually become “like a gift”. “Celebrate those skills that you have that are at the intersection of art and science, or magic and math,” Yaccarino said. “Comfort is complacency,” she said. “So, go to the uncomfortable.”
