YouTube CEO is stepping down after nearly a decade in role

By Brian Fung, CNN

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said Thursday she is “stepping back” from her leadership role at the company after nearly a decade of running the video-sharing platform.

In a blog post, Wojcicki said she plans to “start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about.”

Wojcicki has been involved with YouTube’s parent company Google from its earliest days, when its two founders worked out of her garage in California to build a search engine. She later became Google’s 16th employee and has worked at the company for nearly 25 years.

“Susan has a unique place in Google history and has made the most incredible contribution to products used by people everywhere,” Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google’s founders, said in a statement. “We’re so grateful for all she’s done over the last 25 years.”

Wojcicki had served as YouTube’s CEO for nine years. Succeeding her will be Neal Mohan, YouTube’s current chief product officer.

“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,” Wojcicki wrote.

Wojcicki oversaw YouTube during the web’s pivotal transition toward social media, but also as online platforms came under increasing scrutiny for spreading misinformation, hate speech and other harmful content.

She added that even though she was leaving her role, she would continue to work with some YouTube teams and provide advice to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, offering “counsel and guidance across Google and the portfolio of Alphabet companies.”

“I’m so proud of everything we’ve achieved,” Wojcicki wrote. “It’s been exhilarating, meaningful, and all-consuming.”

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