YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down after nearly a decade in the role, the company shared in a blog post Thursday.
Wojcicki told staff she's departing the top job to "start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I'm passionate about." She'll continue to help advise the company, she said.
She'll be replaced by Neal Mohan, who has been YouTube's chief product officer since 2015 and helped launch the company's TikTok competitor, Shorts. Vox's Peter Kafka first reported the news.
Wojcicki became CEO in 2014, coming from Google, YouTube's parent company. She was one of Google's first employees — its 16th, to be exact — when she joined in 1999 and became its first marketing manager.
Wojcicki rented her garage to Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin as they were building the company. In her memo to employees, she spoke of the early days helping get Google off the ground.
"I saw the potential of what they were building, which was incredibly exciting, and although the company had only a few users and no revenue, I decided to join the team," she wrote. "It would be one of the best decisions of my life."
While there, she co-created Google Image Search, helped build AdSense, had a hand in Google's acquisition of YouTube, and ultimately became senior vice president of ads before leaving for YouTube. Under her leadership, YouTube launched products like YouTube Gaming, YouTube Music, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV.
"I always dreamed of working for a company with a mission that could change the world for the better," she wrote in her memo. "It has been an absolute privilege to be a part of it, and I'm excited for what's next."
