by Key Takeaways
- Reza Mahmoud In an attempt to improve the platform’s financial standing and ad income, Banki joined X as CFO.
- Banki brings more than ten years of financial experience to the position, having previously worked with Tubi and McKinsey.
- Musk’s appointment by Trump to co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency comes after Banki’s hiring.
With the hiring of Mahmoud Reza Banki as its new chief financial officer, Elon Musk’s social media company X (previously Twitter) is making changes in its financial division.
In November, Banki joined X, a move that coincides with the platform’s struggles due to dwindling user engagement and advertising revenue.
Banki brings more than ten years of experience in finance to the position. He was employed by streaming provider Tubi for six years, starting in 2017, as its chief financial and strategic officer. Prior to that, from 2006 to 2010, he worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company.
The hiring comes as X is going through some significant changes, such as the platform’s continuous attempts to draw in advertisers and improve its financial situation. In an effort to stop the platform’s slide in advertising revenue, Musk appointed Linda Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal advertising executive, as CEO last year.
According to data from market research firm Sensor Tower, X saw a sharp reduction in U.S. users in February, falling to 27 million daily active users, a year-over-year decrease of about 20%.
With more than 700,000 new users since the US election, when Musk’s X was crucial to President-Elect Trump, Bluesky now has 14.5 million users overall. Although this rise is noteworthy, it still falls far short of the 600 million monthly users that X is predicted to have.
Trump announced that Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency at the same time as Banki’s appointment.
With Banki on board, it appears like Musk is continuing to be heavily involved in X’s strategic direction while taking a step back from day-to-day operations.
