Indian American becomes new head of YouTube

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Susan Wojcicki, the head  of YouTube, announced Feb. 16, 2023, that she was stepping down and being replaced by Neal Mohan.

Announcing in “A personal update from Susan” Wojcicki said she had decided to step back and focus on family.

“The time is right for me, and I feel able to do this because we have an incredible leadership team in place at YouTube,” she said, adding, “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.”

Wojcicki went further to endorse Mohan. “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,” she said.

“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,” Wojcicki added.

“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,” said said adding that she had discussed with Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, about having an advisory role across Google and parent company Alphabet.

“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.

Mohan has been Chief Product Officer at YouTube since November 2015. In that capacity, he was responsible for YouTube products, user experience, and trust and safety globally, according to his biography on Linkedin.

He also managed creation and enforcement of platform policies governing which content is allowed on the platform, as well as accountability for overall business success and growth of YouTube.

Mohan served on the board of directors of Stitch Fix and before that of 23andMe.

He was Senior Vice President, Display and Video Ads at Google from March 2008 to Nov. 2015. He held several senior positions at other companies as well.

Born in Lucknow and brought up in Michigan and Florida, Mohan graduated from Stanford University in electrical engineering. He went on to get a Masters in Business Administration.

Responding to Wojcicki’s note, Mohan said on Twitter, “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…”