YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki steps down, Indian American Neal Mohan to take over

Wojcicki, who was previously a senior vice president for ad products at Google, became CEO of YouTube in 2014.

YouTube Chief Executive Officer Susan Wojcicki is stepping down from her role and will be replaced by her longtime Indian-American lieutenant Neal Mohan.

Wojcicki,who has led the global online video-sharing and social media platform for the last nine years, said she in her blog post that she will focus on "family, health, and personal projects I'm passionate about."

"Today, after nearly 25 years at Google, I'm stepping back to start a new chapter. I'm inspired every day by creators around the world who bring people together on YouTube. It's been an honor to have a front row seat to this incredible community," Wojcicki said in a letter to employees.

"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," she said.

"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," she added.

"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 said.

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," she concluded.