As Susan Wojcicki, YouTube’s CEO for the last nine years steps down, Neal Mohan will become the new YouTube CEO. Wojcicki explained her decision to leave YouTube in a letter to the company’s staff, stating that she was doing so to “start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about.”
For Google, which acquired the website in 2006, and Alphabet, the holding company that houses both of them, YouTube grew in importance to the company’s operations during her tenure: YouTube sold $29.2 billion worth of advertisements in 2022, accounting for more than 10% of Alphabet’s overall income.
What will follow Neal Mohan’s advance to the YouTube CEO role?
The resignation of Wojcicki also carries significant symbolic value for Google and technology in general. She has long been one of the incredibly few women running a significant tech company. She also played a crucial role in the founding of Google; in 1998, she famously rented out her Silicon Valley garage to co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and a year later, she became the company’s 16th employee.
“Susan has a unique place in Google history and has made the most incredible contribution to products used by people everywhere,” Page and Brin told in a statement. “We’re so grateful for all she’s done over the last 25 years.”
Wojcicki was in charge of marketing when she first joined Google. She later helped develop the company’s online advertising division and oversaw its attempt to compete with YouTube by running its video service. She ultimately argued that Google ought to purchase the website instead.
She made it a priority to make YouTube more approachable to marketers while also trying to control the sizable and unruly group of video producers that drove the site.
This occasionally drew criticism from both insiders and outsiders who claimed that the company wasn’t doing enough to stop hate speech and other objectionable content. The former group included video creators who claimed that YouTube’s rule changes and moderation decisions made it difficult for them to make a living. In a 2019 interview, Wojcicki said, “We succeeded to annoy everyone.”
In a statement he gave, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai told: “Susan has built an exceptional team and has in Neal a successor who is ready to hit the ground running and lead YouTube through its next decade of success.”
As Wojcicki and Neal Mohan, her successor, have collaborated closely for years and Neal Mohan has been Wojcicki’s No. 2 at YouTube since 2015. The two of them first collaborated on developing Google’s display advertising business.
Who is Neal Mohan?
In 2007, as part of Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick, Neal Mohan began working started at the company. He was promoted to Chief Product Officer of YouTube in 2015 after serving as SVP of Display and Video Advertising. At that time, he has been in charge of the organization’s product and UX teams.
Along with running YouTube’s Trust and Safety team, he oversaw the introduction of YouTube TV, YouTube Music, Premium, and Shorts.
“He has a wonderful sense for our product, our business, our creator and user communities, and our employees. Neal will be a terrific leader for YouTube,” said Wojcicki in her internal note to YouTube employees.
Responding to her through Twitter, Neal Mohan thanked Wojcicki and said, “It’s been amazing to work with you (Wojcicki) over the years. You’ve built YouTube into an extraordinary home for creators and viewers. I’m excited to continue this awesome and important mission. Looking forward to what lies ahead…”
Neal Mohan has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and a Master of Business Administration (General Management) from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He had various positions with Accenture and Microsoft throughout the course of his career spanning more than two decades.
Moreover, Stitch Fix, an online personal styling service, and 23andMe, a genetics and biotechnology startup, both have Neal Mohan on their boards. He serves on the board of the interactive advertising bureau and the marketing trade association MMA Global (IAB). Also, he is a member of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Management Board and the Council on International Relations. You can inspect Mohan’s LinkedIn profile for more details.
The coming weeks or months are going to show what sort of effect will Neal Mohan’s advance to the YouTube CEO role is going to have on the company. Although, as Mohan was Wojcicki’s number two for a while, he may continue his new role without a hiccup. If you want to know about recent YouTube developments, make sure to check our articles below.
