Linda Yaccarino has officially left the media industry.
According to a new report from Bloomberg, after leaving Elon Musk’s X last month, she has joined eMed as CEO, a telehealth company that offers access to weight-loss drugs and, specifically, GLP-1 drugs. Bloomberg notes that eMed “offered virtual Covid tests during the pandemic before pivoting.”
GLP-1 drugs—like Ozempic, most notably, but also Wegovy, and Mounjaro—were originally developed to treat diabetes but have exploded in popularity for their weight-loss benefits. As demand has skyrocketed, with consumers, celebrities, and tech execs all racing to get prescriptions, there has been a corresponding explosion in GLP-1 telehealth companies and startups.
Why This Matters:
Candidly, it doesn’t—at least not for adtech. Yaccarino now sits outside the space entirely as we wait to see who, if anyone, ends up taking over as CEO of X. It may not matter much anyway: Elon Musk is still clearly in charge.
That said, X has taken some real steps on the ads side recently, adding legitimate talent to support the business. The company is still struggling to rehab its ads business, but many of these moves seem to be paying off.
The company has also rolled out new tech, including standards for ads to ensure they “look” appealing to people.
Experts React:
The adtech community on X is reacting to the news, and some find it to be a bit strange:
Our Take:
At X, Yaccarino lasted longer than many expected. She clearly knew how to navigate working with Musk.
She now leaves for greener pastures—far outside adtech and media—joining a GLP-1 weight-loss company during a moment when selling GLP drugs looks like very good, dare we say easy, money.
Good for her. This space is tough. After decades in it—and after a stint at a company like X, which has to be grueling—leaving for something totally new sounds… kind of refreshing.
