The head of Youtube will remain as an adviser at Google, the parent company of the service and technological giant, which she joined when it was still only a start-up in her garage.
Susan Wojcicki, the boss of YouTube, announced on Thursday that she is stepping down from her post after almost a decade at the head of the most popular online video platform in the world.
“After nearly 25 years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of YouTube and start a new chapter focusing on my family, my health, and personal projects that I’m passionate about,” she said. in a note to employees of the California group.
Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the founders of Google, rented his garage in 1998, the company’s first headquarters after their dormitory at nearby Stanford University. A year later, she became the young company’s first marketing director.
“I have worn many hats”
An emblematic woman of Silicon Valley, she is ranked as the 16th employee of Google, which became Alphabet in 2015 to distinguish the group’s search engine and main services from its other lesser-known activities, its “bets”.
“I have worn many hats,” she recalls in her note published on the YouTube blog, from co-creating the image search engine on Google, to acquiring YouTube and DoubleClick and to her role as vice-president in charge of publicity.
After leading YouTube for nine years, another platform executive, Neal Mohan, will replace Susan Wojcicki later this year. At the head of the service, she has faced many controversies, from the risks for the confidentiality of underage users of the site to the fight against misinformation, in particular during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are in an incredibly important time for Google (reminds me of the early days) with incredible products and innovations, immense opportunities, and a healthy appetite for the impossible,” she said Thursday. His sister had married Sergey Brin, but the couple later divorced.
