YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Steps Down

After nine years in the role, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down from running the video platform.  

Wojcicki made her announcement in an email to YouTube employees, which was then posted in YouTube’s official blog portal.  

“Today, 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,” she wrote. 

According to her memo, she will be replaced by Neal Mohan as SVP and new head of YouTube. Mohan was one of the people she had brought into the leadership team back when she joined YouTube nine years ago. He has worked closely with Wojcicki for 15 years, acquiring DoubleClick with Google in 2007, becoming the SVP of Display and Video Ads, and eventually becoming YouTube’s Chief Product Officer in 2015. 

“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... 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,” the 54-year-old-CEO added.  

More than her role as YouTube’s CEO, Wojcicki has been pivotal in the growth of Google. Back when Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin turned their search engine into a business, Wojcicki was the one who rented the garage of her home to the two. Page and Brin stayed in that garage for five months, before eventually asking Wojcicki to come on board with Google.  

“I saw the potential of what they were building, which was incredibly exciting, and although the company had only a few users and no revenue, I decided to join the team... It would be one of the best decisions of my life,” Wojcicki shared.  

The YouTube CEO will spend her remaining days in YouTube helping Mohan fully transition into his role and coordinating with various teams and creators. Eventually, she plans to take on an advisory role for Google and Alphabet in an agreement she made with Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai.