YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, who has led the world’s largest video web site for the final 9 years, is stepping down from her position. She’ll get replaced by Neal Mohan, her longtime lieutenant.
In a letter despatched to YouTube’s workers, Wojcicki stated she was leaving so as to “begin a brand new chapter centered on my household, well being and private initiatives I’m enthusiastic about.”
Throughout her tenure, YouTube grew to become more and more necessary to the enterprise for Google, which purchased the location in 2006, and Alphabet, the holding firm that homes each of them: In 2022, YouTube generated $29.2 billion in advert gross sales — greater than 10 p.c of Alphabet’s total revenue.
Wojcicki’s departure additionally has significant symbolism for Google and tech typically. For years, she has been one of many only a few girls to function an enormous tech enterprise. And she or he was an integral a part of Google’s founding — she famously rented out her Silicon Valley storage to co-founders Larry Web page and Sergey Brin in 1998, and joined the corporate as its sixteenth worker a 12 months later.
“Susan has a novel place in Google historical past and has made essentially the most unimaginable contribution to merchandise utilized by folks all over the place,” Web page and Brin stated in an announcement. “We’re so grateful for all she’s achieved during the last 25 years.”
Wojcicki began at Google operating advertising and marketing, helped construct its on-line advert enterprise, and at one level ran the corporate’s video service that was attempting to compete with YouTube. She ended up arguing that Google can buy the location as an alternative.
Throughout her tenure as YouTube’s chief, she made a degree of accelerating its accessibility to advertisers, whereas concurrently attempting to wrangle an unlimited and unruly group of video creators that powered the location.
That periodically led to criticism from video makers, who stated YouTube’s rule modifications and moderation choices made it exhausting for them to make a residing, and outsiders, who stated the corporate wasn’t taking a agency sufficient hand to discourage hate speech and different disagreeable content material. “We managed to upset everybody,” Wojcicki advised me in a 2019 interview.
Wojcicki has spent years working carefully with Mohan, her successor. The 2 of them first labored collectively constructing Google’s show promoting enterprise, and Mohan has been Wojcicki’s No. 2 at YouTube since 2015.
“Susan has constructed an distinctive staff and has in Neal a successor who is able to hit the bottom operating and lead YouTube via its subsequent decade of success,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai stated in an announcement.
Beneath is the complete textual content of Wojcicki’s letter to her workers:
Topic: A private replace
Hello YouTubers,
Twenty-five years in the past I made the choice to hitch a few Stanford graduate college students who have been constructing a brand new search engine. Their names have been Larry and Sergey. I noticed the potential of what they have been constructing, which was extremely thrilling, and though the corporate had only some customers and no income, I made a decision to hitch the staff.
It might be top-of-the-line choices of my life.
Through the years, I’ve worn many hats and achieved so many issues: managed advertising and marketing, co-created Google Picture Search, led Google’s first Video and Ebook search, in addition to early elements of AdSense’s creation, labored on the YouTube and DoubleClick acquisitions, served as SVP of Adverts, and for the final 9 years, the CEO of YouTube. I took on every problem that got here my manner as a result of it had a mission that benefited so many individuals’s lives all over the world: discovering info, telling tales and supporting creators, artists and small companies. I’m so happy with every thing we’ve achieved. It’s been exhilarating, significant and all-consuming.
As we speak, after practically 25 years right here, I’ve determined to step again from my position as the top of YouTube and begin a brand new chapter centered on my household, well being and private initiatives I’m enthusiastic about.
The time is true for me, and I really feel ready to do that as a result of we have now an unimaginable management staff in place at YouTube. Once I joined YouTube 9 years in the past, one among my first priorities was bringing in an unimaginable management staff. Neal Mohan was a kind of leaders, and he’ll be the SVP and new head of YouTube. I’ve spent practically 15 years of my profession working with Neal, first when he came to visit to Google with the DoubleClick acquisition in 2007 and as his position grew to develop into SVP of Show and Video Adverts. He grew to become YouTube’s Chief Product Officer in 2015. Since then, he has arrange a top-notch product and UX staff, performed pivotal roles within the launch of a few of our greatest merchandise, together with YouTube TV, YouTube Music and Premium and Shorts, and has led our Belief and Security staff, guaranteeing that YouTube lives as much as its duty as a worldwide platform. He has an exquisite sense for our product, our enterprise, our creator and consumer communities and our workers. Neal will likely be a terrific chief for YouTube.
With all we’re doing throughout Shorts, streaming and subscriptions, along with the guarantees of AI, YouTube’s most enjoyable alternatives are forward, and Neal is the precise individual to steer us.
For all of the YouTubers I’ve had the privilege to work with, you’ve achieved a lot to make this platform higher through the years. You created the most important inventive economic system the world has ever seen, enabled solely new types of artwork and storytelling, and supported hundreds of thousands of creators and artists to achieve new audiences—all whereas investing in accountable progress in order that this good group of creators, artists, viewers and advertisers couldn’t solely co-exist however thrive collectively. Thanks!
As for me, within the quick time period, I plan to help Neal and assist with the transition, which is able to embody persevering with to work with some YouTube groups, teaching staff members, and assembly with creators. In the long term, I’ve agreed with Sundar to tackle an advisory position throughout Google and Alphabet. It will permit me to name on my totally different experiences through the years to supply counsel and steering throughout Google and the portfolio of Alphabet firms. It’s an extremely necessary time for Google—it jogs my memory of the early days—unimaginable product and know-how innovation, big alternatives, and a wholesome disregard for the unimaginable.
And past that, I’ll nonetheless be round, so I’ll have an opportunity to thank the 1000’s of individuals from all throughout the corporate and the world who I’ve labored with and realized from. However for now, I wish to thank Sundar for his management, help and imaginative and prescient through the years. I additionally wish to thank Larry and Sergey for inviting me on what has actually been the journey of a lifetime. I all the time dreamed of working for a corporation with a mission that would change the world for the higher. Due to you and your imaginative and prescient, I acquired the possibility to stay that dream. It has been an absolute privilege to be part of it, and I’m excited for what’s subsequent.
Thanks for every thing,
Susan
