Posted by Mumbai: Neal Mohan named YouTube CEO after Susan Wojcicki announced her decision to step down from the CEO position in the video platform company owned by Google.
Susan Wojcicki, 54 has been closely associated with Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, since they were PhD students at Stanford University in California.
Wojcicki has played versatile but key roles in Google’s close to three-decade journey including marketing, co-creator of Google Image Search and Google AdSense; and also led Google’s first video and book search. Besides, she worked on the YouTube and DoubleClick acquisitions, served as SVP of Ads and was in charge as YouTube CEO for the last nine years.
“After nearly 25 years here, I’ve decided to step back from my role as the head of YouTube and start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about,” Wojcicki wrote in a note shared with YouTube employees on Thursday.
“The time is right for me, and I feel able to do this because we have an incredible leadership team in place at YouTube. When I joined YouTube nine years ago, one of my first priorities was bringing in an incredible leadership team. Neal Mohan was one of those leaders, and he’ll be the SVP and new head of YouTube,” Wojcicki mentioned in her note.
Through the DoubleClick acquisition in 2007, Mohan joined the YouTube leadership team. He was given the role of SVP of Display and Video Ads and later became YouTube CPO in 2015. Under Mohan, YouTube launched several products including YouTube TV, YouTube Music and Premium and Shorts, and also led the Trust and Safety team.
“With all we’re doing across Shorts, streaming, and subscriptions, together with the promises of AI, YouTube’s most exciting opportunities are ahead, and Neal is the right person to lead us,” emphasized Wojcicki in her note.
While Wojcicki has decided to step down from the position of YouTube CEO and pass on the baton to Mohan, she has agreed to Google CEO Sundar Pichai to take on an advisory role across Google and Alphabet. In her advisory role, Wojcicki will share her varied experiences over the years to offer counsel and guidance across Google and the portfolio of Alphabet companies.