Twitter chief customer officer Sarah Personette said in a tweets last Thursday morning, in response to new owner Elon Musk’s tweet to advertisers that same day, that the company’s “continued commitment to brand safety for advertisers remains unchanged,” and she was looking forward to the future.
As it turns out, that future didn’t last very long.
Personette, Twitter’s main liaison to the advertising community, tweeted Tuesday morning that she resigned from the company last Friday, bringing more change to a C-suite that saw the firings of CEO Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, legal, public policy and trust and safety lead Vijaya Gadde and general counsel Sean Edgett late last Thursday night.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
The departure is another twist in the eventful days since Musk officially took over Twitter. Advertisers are looking for reassurance from the platform under a potentially volatile owner who has previously shared his disregard for advertising while championing free speech at whatever cost. General Motors, a key rival of Musk’s Tesla, has temporarily suspended advertising on Twitter. With more staff cuts and departures on the horizon, content moderation and clamping down on misinformation could become more difficult. Instances of discriminatory speech have also increased on the platform over the weekend. All of which serve to make advertisers sticking with the platform more nervous.
Personette said in her tweet, “I want everyone to know I do believe the new administration understands the importance of holding up the standards of GARM (Global Alliance for Responsible Media),” adding, “To my customers, there was never a time I thought you stopped believing in us. Through the epic moments and the challenges, I can share that it truly feels like a community. Business is the most personal thing, and you all made that feel true.”
She was promoted to the CCO role and the management team last August following the departure of customers lead Matt Derella.
Shortly thereafter, she appeared at Adweek’s Brandweek event last September, stressing Twitter’s commitment to brand safety and the
health of the conversation.
Personette joined Twitter in October 2018, leading its sales organization, after serving as chief operating officer at media company Refinery29, where she oversaw business strategy and development, customer revenue, business marketing, growth and analytics, creative services and research.
Prior to that, she spent three-plus years as vice president of the global business marketing team at Facebook, where she built and led the global agency team.
Personette also held senior roles with ad agencies Universal McCann Worldwide and Starcom Mediavest Group.