Susan Wojcicki speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2020. Image: World Economic Forum/Mattias Nutt (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
One of Google’s earliest employees, Wojcicki has had a number of leadership roles within the tech giant and has led YouTube since 2014 through various challenges.
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down from the position after leading the company since 2014, to focus on personal projects.
In an update sent to YouTube staff, Wojcicki said that Neal Mohan will be taking over as the new head of the video platform.
Wojcicki said she will stay in the short term to support this transition, along with longer-term plans to remain within Google and Alphabet in an advisory role to offer “counsel and guidance”.
“Today, after nearly 25 years here, I’ve decided to step back from my role as the head of YouTube and start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about,” Wojcicki said.
“The time is right for me, and I feel able to do this because we have an incredible leadership team in place at YouTube.”
One of Google’s earliest employees, Wojcicki was also Google’s first landlord, as she rented out her garage to company co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they worked on their search engine in 1998.
Wojcicki said she joined the team as she could see the potential of what they were building. She added that this “would be one of the best decisions of my life”.
She has held various positions within Google over the years and said she co-created Google Image Search and led the company’s first video and book search.
Wojcicki was also previously the SVP of Adwords and AdSense for Google, building up its advertising and analytics products.
“I took on each challenge that came my way because it had a mission that benefited so many people’s lives around the world: finding information, telling stories and supporting creators, artists and small businesses,” Wojcicki said.
“I’m so proud of everything we’ve achieved. It’s been exhilarating, meaningful and all-consuming.”
Since 2014, Wojcicki has led YouTube through various challenges, including the rise of new competitors such as TikTok and impacts to ad revenue.
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Susan Wojcicki speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2020. Image: World Economic Forum/Mattias Nutt via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
