YouTube CEO, Susan Wojcicki is stepping down from her role at Google. A role that had been more important than almost any other at Google. Wojcicki was one of the first employees at Google, with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin having set up shop in her parents’ garage in 1998. She later became the first marketing manager for Google the very next year.
Wojcicki has been at Google for quite some time, about 25 years. Which is incredible, since that is how old Google is this year. She has been a big part of Google’s ad business. Which included being the first product manager of Adsense, she also encouraged Google to purchase YouTube in 2006, which turned out to be a fantastic purchase for the company. In 2014, she took over as CEO of YouTube.
She is deciding to step down to start “a new chapter focused on my family, health and personal projects I’m passionate about.” But she’s not leaving YouTube immediately.
Neal Mohan is taking over the reigns of YouTube
Mohan has been Wojcicki’s deputy for a number of years, and now he’ll be the new chief at YouTube. Interestingly enough she did not mention that he would be the CEO, but rather “senior vice president and head of YouTube.” Wojcicki stated in her farewell letter that “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.”
As mentioned, Wojcicki won’t be leaving YouTube immediately, she will be sticking around to help with the transition. Stating that “in the short term, I plan to support Neal and help with the transition, which will include continuing to work with some YouTube teams, coaching team members, and meeting with creators.”
Finally, Wojcicki isn’t fully stepping away from Google. As she will serve as an advisor to the company. Which will allow her to “call on my different experiences over the years to counsel and guidance across Google and the portfolio of Alphabet companies”.