YouTube's CEO Susan Wojcicki steps down after 9 years

YouTube’s CEO Susan Wojcicki (pictured) is stepping down from her role after nine years and its chief product officer Neal Mohan will succeed her as SVP and new head of YouTube. Wojcicki will take on an advisory role across Google and Alphabet.

Wojcicki announced the news in a letter to YouTube employees on platform’s blog, saying that she has decided to step back from her role as the head of YouTube and start a new chapter focused on her family, health, and personal projects she is 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. Mohan was one of those leaders, and he’ll be the SVP and new head of 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," she added. 

She also thanked all YouTubers she has worked with, "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," she added. 

Moving on, Wojcicki plans to support Mohan and help with the transition in the short term, which will include continuing to work with some YouTube teams, coaching team members, and meeting with creators. In the longer term, she has agreed with Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, 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,” she said.

Prior to YouTube, Wojcicki was SVP of adwords and adsense of Google, where she managed marketing, co-created Google Image Search, led Google’s first Video and Book search, as well as early parts of AdSense’s creation.

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