Susan Wojcicki is stepping down as CEO of YouTube after nine years — and 24 years at Google, which she joined as one of its first employees back when it was in start-up mode.Wojcicki announced her departure in a memo to YouTube staff Thursday. Neal Mohan, currently chief product officer at YouTube, will replace her as SVP and new head of YouTube.“I’ve decided to step back from my role as the head of YouTube and start a new chapter focused...
Susan
Wojcicki
CEO
Wojcicki pivoted YouTube’s annual Brandcast presentation to advertisers in 2022, moving it from the digital-centric NewFronts to the middle of upfronts week aimed at traditional broadcasters. And her message was clear, spelled out on a giant screen behind her at New York’s Imperial Theatre: “YouTube is the Main Stream,” as the service now reaches 230 million adults monthly across devices in the U.S. At the same time, the platform also moved away from competing with legacy media on its terms, using its showcase to promote the TikTok-esque YouTube Shorts and live shopping, along with its efforts to combat misinformation. The service significantly reduced its output of self-produced content in the wake of originals chief Susanne Daniels’ departure in March. In August, Wojcicki also lost longtime chief business officer Robert Kyncl, who was subsequently named CEO of Warner Music Group.