YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki resigns; Neal Mohan takes over

She plans to take on an advisory role at Alphabet Inc. to focus on family, health and personal projects. Mohan worked by her side as Chief Product Officer.

YouTube’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Susan Wojcicki has announced that she is stepping down from her role at the tech giant. She was one of the first Google employees. 

She will be replaced by her deputy Neal Mohan, Chief Product Officer who joined Google in 2007.

Wojcicki said she will focus on ‘family, health, and personal projects,’ and plans to take on an advisory role at Alphabet, in a blog post. 

Mohan thanked her in a Tweet, saying it’s been 'amazing' working with her for years and that he is 'excited' to continue his work as the CEO.

Thank you, @SusanWojcicki. It's been amazing to work with you over the years. You've built YouTube into an extraordinary home for creators and viewers. I'm excited to continue this awesome and important mission. Looking forward to what lies ahead... https://t.co/Rg5jXv1NGb

— Neal Mohan (@nealmohan) February 16, 2023

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The change of guard comes as YouTube's advertising revenue fell for the second straight quarter amid intense competition for viewing time with short-form video services such as TikTok and Facebook's Reels, and streaming services like Netflix.

Wojcicki was previously Senior Vice President for ad products at Google and became the CEO of YouTube in 2014. Meanwhile, Mohan, a Stanford graduate, focused on building YouTube Shorts, Music and subscription offerings in the role.

He previously spent nearly six years at DoubleClick, a company Google acquired in 2007, and later served for about eight years as senior vice president of display and video advertising at Google.