After nine years as CEO of Google’s video streaming platform YouTube, Susan Wojcicki will step down. She will be replaced by Neal Mohan, her long-term lieutenant.
Wojcicki, who joined Google in 1999 as one of its 16th employees, helped the company transition from an ad business to a media and video-sharing powerhouse. She also helped improve YouTube’s fraught relations with studios.
Susan Wojcicki Steps Down
YouTube Chief Executive Susan Wojcicki has announced that she will step down from her post at the world’s biggest video platform, as the company grapples with a series of tough challenges and controversies. In a statement Thursday, Wojcicki said she would leave the position “in the near future” and be replaced by longtime product chief Neal Mohan.
She will still remain at Google and Alphabet, the parent of YouTube, as an “advisory role,” Wojcicki said in the statement. In her departure, she joins a list of prominent high-profile tech executives who have resigned from their posts in recent years, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal.
Wojcicki’s decision comes at a crucial moment for YouTube and the wider tech ecosystem. The company’s advertising revenue has been falling, with its fourth-quarter ad sales slipping 8% from a year ago. It also faces stiff competition from short-form video platforms like TikTok and Facebook’s Reels.
Her departure is a big blow for a company that has grown rapidly into a cultural phenomenon and a media powerhouse with more than 2 billion users. Wojcicki helped turn YouTube into one of the most profitable businesses in the industry, with ad revenue growing from $8 billion in 2017 to $29 billion last year.
But YouTube has also faced a variety of controversies and criticism, including the spread of misinformation. Critics have pointed out that YouTube isn’t doing enough to fight the spread of Covid and election misinformation, conspiracy theories and toxic content aimed at children.
As a result, some brands have pulled their ads from the platform, and the company has also changed its content moderation policies to ensure creators aren’t making money off of videos that violate its terms. It has also launched a new subscription service that lets people watch videos for free called YouTube Music Premium and an ad-free version of its popular video streaming platform, YouTube TV.
Although YouTube has a large user base and the most ad revenue in the market, it’s facing increasing competition from rivals, particularly TikTok and Twitch. Both services court a youthful audience and a thriving community of users and content creators.
That’s part of the reason why ad revenues fell for a second straight quarter, with YouTube posting $7.96 billion in advertising in the fourth quarter, down 8% from the same period in 2018. And the company is struggling to compete with the rise of social media sites like TikTok and Twitch that appeal to young audiences.
During her nine-year run as YouTube’s chief, Wojcicki has built a solid team and bolstered the platform’s reputation for being a place where creators can get their work seen. But the platform has also faced some challenges and controversies, including the spreading of misinformation and a lack of transparency around its algorithms.
Neal Mohan Takes Over
In the wake of Susan Wojcicki stepping down from her role as CEO of YouTube, Neal Mohan has taken over as the new leader. A Stanford University graduate, Mohan has been working at Google since 2008 and is the chief product officer of the company.
Aside from the obvious business leadership skills that he brings to the table, Mohan has an important cultural understanding of the community that YouTube serves, something that will be essential as the company tries to figure out how best to woo users in the face of competitive offerings like TikTok and Netflix.
He’s also likely to be able to bring in new ideas for how to grow and enhance YouTube’s products, formats, subscription services and partnerships as he takes the company forward into an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Before he became the YouTube CEO, Mohan was the SVP of Display and Video Ads at Google, managing ad revenue across DoubleClick as well as YouTube, AdSense, and the Google Display Network.
During his time at YouTube, he has played a pivotal role in the launch of many of its biggest products, including YouTube TV and Premium and Shorts. He also led the company’s Trust and Safety team, which has made a name for itself in combatting misinformation online.
As a CEO, Mohan will need to work with advertisers to present a viable business model and the benefits of investing in the YouTube platform. He’ll also need to consider whether he wants to continue to cut costs and scale back on investment in the future.
His background in advertising will help him to make the most of the vast resources that YouTube has available to it, a crucial element in battling with competitors like TikTok and Netflix for viewers’ attention. But as the tech landscape evolves, he’ll have to weigh whether he wants to cut staff in order to make a profit or invest in a more comprehensive strategy that will help to keep YouTube ahead of the curve.
He’ll also have to determine what future challenges he wants YouTube to tackle, from privacy issues to regulatory changes. The video site’s ad revenue has dropped in recent quarters, and its share of the ad market has fallen to below Wall Street expectations.
In addition to his role as the YouTube CEO, Mohan will be a member of Google’s executive board. He’ll be able to offer advice and guidance to the company and its parent Alphabet, which is owned by Google.
He’s also a member of the board at Stitch Fix and genomics and biotechnology company 23andMe, according to his LinkedIn profile. He’s an Indian American, so he’ll be part of a growing group of executives with roots in India running the show at global technology companies.
The Future Of YouTube
The future of YouTube isn’t entirely clear yet but it seems like we’re looking at a much more social and interactive YouTube as the platform becomes more about the viewers themselves. Users will be able to use the platform to live stream sporting events, megachurch services and unique entertainment-focused events all while sharing their own videos.
The video sharing site is also a huge force in advertising, running through Google’s Adwords and displaying its adverts alongside video content. Having this robust advertising platform has meant that YouTube has been a key player in the digital marketing landscape since it began, with many brands relying on YouTube to help them reach their audiences.
However, the advertising model for YouTube has been plagued by numerous issues over the years and this has had a significant impact on the platform and creators. This has mainly stemmed from their ‘Adpocalypse’ of 2016 and 2017 where advertisers were forced to flee the platform due to ‘questionable’ content that was appearing alongside their advertisements on the site.
While YouTube are now trying to rectify this issue, there are still many others that remain unresolved – not to mention the fact that a lot of smaller channels that do have an extensive following but aren’t making the same kind of money as the bigger ‘Trending’ channels are finding it increasingly difficult to make the kind of income that they used to make.
One of the main reasons that these smaller and less popular YouTubers have been struggling to monetize their channel is that they’re frequently being ignored by the ‘Trending’ content that is being featured on the site. This is a problem that will continue to exacerbate as YouTube begin to manually curate what is ‘trending’ on their site.
Another major problem is the way that YouTube are handling copyright issues and claims of infringement on their platform. This is an issue that has a large amount of negativity attached to it and can be detrimental for smaller channels.
If YouTube want to solve this issue, they need to work on a fairer copyright claim system with rights holders and also try and find ways of tackling the problem of ‘Trending’ content not representing the true YouTube community. This can be done by allowing them to prioritise the’real’ content that they themselves have created and not just content that is ‘trending’ on the site that might be more popular with the general public but that they don’t necessarily share the same values as.
This could be achieved by having a more organised subscriptions feed, separating different types of videos and giving the user greater control over what they’re watching. This would allow them to better target the kind of content they’re interested in watching and will keep people more engaged on the platform in the long run.
Neal Mohan, an Indian-American, has been named the new CEO of YouTube after Susan Wojcicki revealed her desire to leave the position after nine years to focus on her family, wellbeing, and personal activities.
Mohan joined Google about a decade ago as a part of the 2007 acquisition of DoubleClick. He served as SVP of Display and Video Marketing before being promoted to Chief Product Officer of YouTube in 2015. At that time, he has been in charge of the company’s product and UX teams.
Along with leading YouTube’s Trust and Wellness division, he also oversaw the launch of YouTube television, YouTube Music, and Premium and Shorts.
He has a great understanding of our business, our representatives, our maker and user networks, and our product. Neal will be a fantastic YouTube pioneer, predicted Wojcicki in a private email to YouTube staff members.
Mohan thanked Wojcicki on Twitter, writing, “It’s been amazing working with you (Wojcicki) throughout the long run. You’ve turned YouTube into a previously unheard-of hub for creators and fans. I can’t wait to start working on this amazing and important project. preparing for what is to come
Neal Mohan: Who Is He?
- Neal Mohan received his Stanford College degree in electric design.
- Mohan, a longtime aide to Susan Wojcicki, was instrumental in bringing Google and DoubleClick together in 2007.
- In 2015, Mohan was appointed chief product officer at YouTube. In his position, he concentrated on expanding YouTube Shorts, Music, and subscription products.
- Mohan has already collaborated with Microsoft and is a member of the 23andMe and Join Fix executive committees.
- Mohan declared that he is looking forward to a new future and is anxious to move forward with this “magnificent and meaningful endeavor.” “ Thank you so much, @SusanWojcicki. Long-term collaboration with you has been fantastic. You’ve made YouTube into a unique space for creators and consumers. I can’t wait to start on this amazing and important endeavor.
Neal Mohan, the incoming CEO of YouTube, is subject to 10 things.
- Mohan has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Management and a four-year degree in electrical design from Stanford College.
- A quick scan at Neal Mohan’s LinkedIn profile reveals that the Indian-American executive began his career there, where he stayed for about 1.5 years. After that, he worked at DoubleClick, which led to his 2007 entry into Google. He eventually rose to the position of SVP of Display and Video Promotions.
- Neal Mohan also briefly had a supervisor position in Microsoft’s corporate methodology group before joining Google. He is a member of the 23andMe and Line Fix executive committees for genomics and biotechnology.
- Once DoubleClick was acquired by the company in 2008, Mohan joined Google. His primary employment was in the area of online and electronic advertising. He was nevertheless previously familiar with YouTube and the crew because it was DoubleClick’s main customer.
- In 2013, Twitter, then led by Dick Costolo, tried to localize Mohan and Sundar Pichai, the current Google CEO, to oversee new projects at the company. David Rosenblatt, his former DoubleClick business colleague, recommended Mohan. According to a TechCrunch article, Google provided up to $150 million in stock incentives to retain the two senior product employees.
- In 2015, Mohan was appointed chief product officer of YouTube. In her letter of resignation, Wojcicki writes, “Since that time, he has built a world-class product and UX group, played key roles in the launch of some of our greatest products, including YouTube television, YouTube Music and Premium, and YouTube Shorts, and has led our Trust and Security department.”
- He is a pioneer in the TikTok and Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts genres. But, because to YouTube’s immense size, he occasionally also forgets about the elements that are readily available.
- According to a 2021 Edge story, Mohan stated in an interview that the company would look into adding a playback speed option to the YouTube television program. The element turned out to be already available.
- Mohan oversaw the trust and wellbeing team at YouTube in his capacity as product chief. The tolerance of the stage’s performers for copyright violations put him to a serious test.
- Mohan will currently be closely collaborating with Wojcicki. The active YouTube CEO will serve as the board member for Letters in order.
- In addition, Mohan tweeted about his new position and Wojcicki’s departure. It’s been amazing working with you over the long run, he wrote in the tweet. You’ve turned YouTube into an amazing space for creators and fans. I can’t wait to start on this amazing and important endeavor. anticipating future events
Conclusion
Since he was appointed chief product officer in 2015, Mohan plays has contributed to overseeing and launching YouTube’s other best products, according to Fast Organization. He previously admitted to Rapid Organization that he actually views YouTube as a phase as the relationship that connects with him the most. The “most perfect perspectives of the makers that they are normally excited for,” according to viewers.
He was apparently offered the Chief Product Officer role at Twitter, according to a 2013 Business Insider article, but Google spent close to $100 million to keep him.
A former boss was quoted as saying that he was a “unique” combination of “an ‘unquenchable technologist’ who yet had the business sense” to interact with customers on a fundamental level.
