New CFO for X Corp

By Jaspreet Singh

(Reuters) – Elon Musk's X Corp has appointed Mahmoud Reza Banki, a former Tubi executive, as chief financial officer. This marks a significant addition for the social media platform as Musk shifts his focus towards enhancing government efficiency.

Banki joined X in November, as per his LinkedIn profile. Previously, he served as the finance chief at Tubi from 2017 for six years.

Neither X nor Banki provided immediate comments to Reuters.

Amidst increasing competition for advertising dollars from social media competitors like Facebook-parent Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), X is striving to appeal to advertisers.

Recently, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump appointed Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as co-leaders of a newly established Department of Government Efficiency. Trump also pardoned Banki in January 2021 related to past legal issues involving false statements made in 2010.

Jasmine Enberg, VP at Emarketer, stated, "(The appointment) suggests Musk may be stepping back from X's business operations, yet he's still involved due to X's importance in his political endeavors." Enberg also noted that Banki's experience at Tubi might indicate an increased emphasis on video content on X.

Last year, Musk hired Linda Yaccarino, previously the advertising chief at NBCUniversal, as X's CEO, aiming to recover from a steep decline in ad revenue. D.A. Davidson & Co analyst Gil Luria mentioned that Musk aims to restore the company's value to the price he paid for it.

The social media platform has experienced significant changes since Musk's acquisition, leading to slumping ad revenues. As of October, X's app had 317 million monthly active users globally, reflecting a 24% decline compared to October 2022, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to announce Banki's appointment on Wednesday.