Industry vet Angela Zepeda to join X as first global head of marketing since Musk takeover

Zepeda comes from Hyundai, where she spent five years as chief marketing officer and, eventually, chief creative officer. Prior to her time there, Zepeda spent more than two decades in the world of advertising and communications agencies, holding a variety of positions at companies such as Innocean, Lowe Campbell Ewald and TBWA.

X’s Yaccarino, a former ad exec herself, wrote in a post on X that Zepeda “brings incredible experience and expertise, understands how to grow a brand globally and is exactly the right person to lead X’s marketing as we accelerate our innovation.”

Today, I am delighted to welcome Angela Zepeda to X as our new Global Head of Marketing. X is the world’s most meaningful platform so it was essential to hire an exceptional leader like Angela to further shape our transformation. Most recently serving as CMO/Chief Creative…

— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) September 9, 2024

Zepeda enters the role at a pivotal moment for X. The company is hemorrhaging ad revenue – during the first year of Musk’s ownership, X’s ad revenue slid around 55% year-over-year each month, per data provided to Reuters.

Musk has had an extremely tenuous relationship with top advertisers, many of whom pulled their spending in response to concerns about brand safety in light of Musk’s lax content moderation policies. After telling advertisers withholding spend to “go fuck yourself” in an interview last year with New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, Musk appeared onstage in conversation with WPP CEO Mark Read in June in an apparent effort to patch up the relationship with advertisers. Less than two months later, Musk sued an advertising trade body into oblivion.

User engagement is down, too. A study released in March by Edison Research indicates that 27% of the US population reported using X in 2022 and 2023, but that figure dropped to just 19% in 2024.

Meanwhile, X was banned outright in Brazil on August 30 over Musk’s refusal to comply with court orders that would require the platform to suspend specific accounts.

To win back ad dollars – and its user base – it would appear that X needs some positive marketing of its own. That task will likely fall to Zepeda.

The company’s previous global head of marketing was Leslie Berland, who left in November 2022 – along with a slate of many other high-ranking execs – following Musk’s takeover.

Zepeda shared the news on her X account today, writing: “I have X-citing news to share! After an incredible five-year journey as CMO/CCO for Hyundai, I’m thrilled to shift gears and drive into a new adventure as the global head of marketing for X!“

X declined an additional request for comment.

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