What you need to know
- Susan Wojcicki has announced that she will step down as CEO of YouTube.
- Wojcicki has spent nearly 25 years at Google and rented out her garage to Larry Page and Sergey Brin in the company's early years.
- Neal Mohan will serve as the new senior vice president and head of YouTube.
More changes are happening at Google as the CEO of YouTube has announced her decision to depart from her role.
Susan Wojcicki made the announcement via a letter sent to employees and posted on YouTube's official blog site on Thursday, stating that after nearly 25 years at the company, she intends to focus on her family and personal passion projects.
Wojcicki joined the YouTube team as CEO in 2014, overseeing the company's streaming efforts. She is also known for her contributions to and engagement with creators, who she addressed in a separate blog post regarding her departure as CEO. Wojcicki's time at YouTube was spent working closely with Neal Mohan, who eventually became Chief Product Officer in 2015 and played a pivotal role in launching products like YouTube TV, YouTube Music, Shorts, and more.
Mohan will take over as SVP and head of YouTube.
"The time is right for me, and I feel able to do this because we have an incredible leadership team in place at YouTube," Wojcicki continued.
Wojcicki's history with Google goes back to the very early years of the company. She became associated with Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin shortly after the company was founded, letting them rent her garage space before she later joined the company in 1999. "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."
Meanwhile, she will continue to work with Mohan to assist with the transition and will serve in an advisory role at Google and Alphabet.
"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," Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement obtained by Recode.
You can read Wojcicki's full letter below:
Hi YouTubers,
Twenty-five years ago I made the decision to join a couple of Stanford graduate students who were building a new search engine. Their names were Larry and Sergey. 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.
Over the years, I’ve worn many hats and done so many things: managed marketing, co-created Google Image Search, led Google’s first Video and Book search, as well as early parts of AdSense’s creation, worked on the YouTube and DoubleClick acquisitions, served as SVP of Ads, and for the last nine years, the CEO of YouTube. I took on each challenge that came my way because it had a mission that benefited so many people’s lives around the world: finding information, telling stories and supporting creators, artists, and small businesses. I’m so proud of everything we’ve achieved. It’s been exhilarating, meaningful, and all-consuming.
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.
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. I’ve spent nearly 15 years of my career working with Neal, first when he came over to Google with the DoubleClick acquisition in 2007 and as his role grew to become SVP of Display and Video Ads. He became YouTube’s Chief Product Officer in 2015. Since then, he has set up a top-notch product and UX team, played pivotal roles in the launch of some of our biggest products, including YouTube TV, YouTube Music and Premium and Shorts, and has led our Trust and Safety team, ensuring that YouTube lives up to its responsibility as a global platform. 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.
For all the YouTubers I’ve had the privilege to work with, you have done so much to make this platform better over the years. You created the largest creative economy the world has ever seen, enabled entirely new forms of art and storytelling, and supported millions of creators and artists to reach new audiences—all while investing in responsible growth so that this brilliant community of creators, artists, viewers, and advertisers could not only co-exist but thrive together. Thank you!
As for me, 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. In the longer term, I’ve agreed with Sundar to take on an advisory role across Google and Alphabet. This will allow me to call on my different experiences over the years to offer counsel and guidance across Google and the portfolio of Alphabet companies. It’s an incredibly important time for Google—it reminds me of the early days—incredible product and technology innovation, huge opportunities, and a healthy disregard for the impossible.
And beyond that, I’ll still be around, so I’ll have a chance to thank the thousands of people from all across the company and the world who I’ve worked with and learned from. But for now, I want to thank Sundar for his leadership, support and vision over the years. I also want to thank Larry and Sergey for inviting me on what has truly been the adventure of a lifetime. I always dreamed of working for a company with a mission that could change the world for the better. Thanks to you and your vision, I got the chance to live that dream. It has been an absolute privilege to be a part of it, and I’m excited for what’s next.
Thank you for everything,
Susan
