Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, has announced her resignation from the streaming video site. Wojcicki, who has been with Alphabet for almost 25 years, said that she is embarking on “a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal initiatives I’m passionate about.”
Wojcicki has been with Google almost since its inception. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the company’s founders, set up shop in her parents’ garage shortly after incorporating Google in 1998. The next year, Wojcicki was named Google’s first marketing manager.
She was involved in the early Google Doodles, co-founded Google Image Search, and was the first product manager of AdSense (one of Google’s core advertising initiatives). She persuaded Google to acquire YouTube, which had started a year before. Wojcicki took over YouTube eight years later, becoming one of the only women to lead a large technology corporation.
Throughout Wojcicki’s tenure, YouTube grew in importance inside Google and Alphabet. Last quarter, the platform’s ad revenue alone accounted for more than 10% of the company’s overall revenue. Of course, Wojcicki’s tenure as YouTube CEO has not been without challenges. The platform has historically grappled with problems of moderation, including hate speech and disinformation. Wojcicki, for her part, made a point of listening to YouTube creators and consumers and personally addressing their issues.
In her parting letter, Wojcicki said that her de facto constable, Neal Mohan, would take over as YouTube’s next CEO. Mohan joined Google in 2007 when Google acquired ad business DoubleClick. He moved on to become YouTube’s Chief Product Officer in 2015, where he was instrumental in the introduction of YouTube TV, YouTube Music, Premium, and Shorts. Mohan was also in charge of the service’s trust and safety team.
Wojcicki said that Mohan would be senior vice president and head of YouTube, rather than CEO. “With everything we’re doing across Shorts, streaming, and subscriptions, as well as the potential of AI,” Wojcicki added.
She is not quitting YouTube right now. “In the near term, I aim to assist Neal with the transition by continuing to work with select YouTube teams, mentoring team members, and meeting with creators,” she said. Wojcicki will continue to work with Google and Alphabet as an adviser in the future. “This will enable me to draw on my diverse expertise over the years to provide advise and direction across Google and the Alphabet business,” she said.
