According to the Financial Times, John Nitti has stepped down from his role as X’s head of advertising after only ten months in the position.
Nitti, who came on board as the global lead for revenue operations and advertising innovation, was seen as a possible replacement for former CEO Linda Yaccarino, who left her post in July. His departure is the latest in a series of senior exits from Elon Musk’s increasingly unstable leadership team. For example, X’s CFO Mahmoud Reza Banki departed in October after serving less than a year, and both the CFO and general counsel of xAI left during the summer months.
This frequent turnover is said to point to deeper internal conflicts. The FT cites sources who claim that executives have become increasingly dissatisfied with Musk’s unpredictable changes in direction and his tendency to make major decisions—such as prohibiting hashtags in ads—without first consulting his advertising staff.
Advertising leaders are facing mounting challenges as Musk invests heavily in artificial intelligence to rival OpenAI and DeepMind. Although some advertisers have returned after Musk’s blunt message in late 2023 to “go fuck yourself” and xAI has landed deals with companies like Disney, some brands have quietly expressed concerns about being pressured to advertise, especially after X initiated lawsuits against brands like Shell and Pinterest over alleged boycotts.
Prior to his time at X, Nitti spent nearly a decade at Verizon and also held a lengthy tenure at American Express.


