YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down after nine years in the role.
In a blog post, she said she had “decided to start a new chapter focused on my family, health and personal projects I’m passionate about.
“YouTube’s chief product officer, Neal Mohan, will take over as head of the Google-owned video platform.
“The time is right for me, and I feel able to do this because we have an incredible leadership team in place at YouTube,” Ms Wojcicki said.
Ms Wojcicki added she would continue to work at YouTube in the “short term” to “support Neal and help with the transition.”
In her blog, she praised Mr Mohan’s work launching YouTube TV, as well as leading YouTube Music, Premium, and Shorts.At the invitation of Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google’s parent firm, Alphabet, Ms Wojcicki confirmed she would to “take on an advisory role across Google and Alphabet.”
“This will allow me to call on my different experiences over the years to offer counsel and guidance across Google and the portfolio of Alphabet companies,” she said.
Ms Wojcicki became involved with Google when the founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, set up shop in the garage of her home in Silicon Valley in 1998, becoming the company’s first marketing manager a year later.
A Google employee for nearly 25 years, she was among the first 20 employees at the tech giant – listed at number 16.
During Ms Wojcicki’s tenure at YouTube, she has faced public criticism over the platform’s handling of content moderation, the spread of misinformation, and ongoing concerns over child privacy.
Fact-checking organisations around the world say that YouTube is not doing enough to prevent the proliferation of misinformation on the platform. (BBC)