After nine years as CEO of the world’s largest video-sharing platform, Susan Wojcicki announced last week that she was stepping down from YouTube, to be replaced by the company’s chief product officer Neal Mohan. The move comes after nearly 25 years of working for parent company Google, where she started as its first marketing manager (founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin famously set up Google’s early office space in Wojcicki’s Menlo Park garage). Wojcicki is known for leading the charge to acquire YouTube, co-creating Google Image Search and helping to launch AdSense, among numerous other accomplishments. YouTube’s number of average daily users has more than doubled under her leadership and content has expanded with new services such as YouTube TV, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music.

“Wojcicki will continue to be involved with YouTube and parent company Alphabet,” reports Variety. “The exec wrote that she agreed with Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, to take on an advisory role at the Internet giant.”

“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,” she wrote in an email to YouTube employees on February 16 that was published on the YouTube Blog later in the day. “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.”

In 2014, Wojcicki left her post as Google’s senior vice president of advertising in order to become chief executive of YouTube. During her nine years, “YouTube grew to more than 2.6 billion active users (up from 1.1 billion in 2014), 80 million of which now pay for the platform’s $11.99-per-month premium service,” explains TechCrunch.

Last year, “YouTube generated $29.2 billion in ad sales — more than 10 percent of Alphabet’s total revenue.”

However, Alphabet is currently going through a period marked by major change. The tech leader is contending with new developments in artificial intelligence as it prepares for a Supreme Court case this year and faces increasing pressure from various organizations to address misinformation and privacy and security problems associated with social media.

“Mohan will replace Wojcicki, hoping to help reinvigorate Alphabet’s earnings by boosting YouTube’s revenue,” according to Forbes. “Since joining YouTube’s team, many have credited Mohan with helping launch exciting products like YouTube Premium and Shorts. Wojcicki also credits Mohan with leading YouTube’s Trust and Safety team.”

“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,” Wojcicki wrote to her employees. Since becoming chief product officer, “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.”

“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.

Wojcicki is the latest high-profile tech exec to step down in recent years. “Her departure follows Jeff Bezos, who resigned as CEO of Amazon in 2021,” notes the BBC, “Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg stepping down in 2022 and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who left the company last year as part of a shake-up instigated by new boss Elon Musk.”

Related:
The Extraordinary Exit of the Women of Silicon Valley, Bloomberg, 2/16/23
New YouTube CEO Is Bullish on Web3 Tech Like NFTs and the Metaverse, Decrypt, 2/19/23
YouTube’s New Crypto-Friendly CEO Sees ‘Incredible Potential’ for Blockchain and NFT Tech, Fortune, 2/20/23
YouTubers and Creator Economy Insiders React to the CEO’s Sudden Exit, Business Insider, 2/18/23