YouTube chief executive officer Susan Wojcicki has stepped down from the role after nine years running the video division of Google, marking the end of an era for one of the Internet’s foundational businesses.
Wojcicki said in a blog post that she planned to “start a new chapter” focused on her family, health and personal projects. She’ll also take an advisory role, working across Google and parent Alphabet Inc.
She is handing the reins to top lieutenant Neal Mohan, another veteran Google executive who runs YouTube’s product and policies.
“The time is right for me, and I feel able to do this because we have an incredible leadership team in place at YouTube,” Wojcicki wrote.
Wojcicki was one of Google’s first employees and has worked as YouTube CEO since February 2014.
She has served in different high-level positions at Google and was part of the team that worked on the acquisition of YouTube.
In her message, she expressed joy over the milestones she and the company have been able to achieve during the twenty-five years she has worked there.
“I took on each challenge that came my way because it had a mission that benefited so many people’s lives around the world: finding information, telling stories, and supporting creators, artists, and small businesses,” she said.
