Photo: Francois G. Durand/Getty
Susan Wojcicki, who became an early figure in the creation of Google and the rise of YouTube, is stepping back from her role as CEO of YouTube.
After nearly 25 years with the company, sheexplained in a blog postThursday, “I’ve decided to step back from my role as the head of YouTube and start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about.”
Wojcickibecame the CEObehind the Google-owned streaming platform in 2014 but began her long-standing history with the company during its early beginnings in 1998 when sherented her garage as an office spaceto Google co-foundersLarry PageandSergey Brin.
“Twenty-five years ago I made the decision to join a couple of Stanford graduate students who were building a new search engine. Their names were Larry and Sergey. 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 detailed in her announcement. “It would be one of the best decisions of my life.”
Page and Brin would later hire the 54-year-old executive as the 16th employee at Google. She would wear many hats, including working in marketing, co-creating Google Image Search, and leading Google’s first Video and Book search.
Kimberly White/Getty
“When I joined YouTube nine years ago, one of my first priorities was bringing in an incredible leadership team. Neal Mohan was one of those leaders, and he’ll be the SVP and new head of YouTube,” added Wojcicki in her post.
She will also take on an advisory role across Google and the technology giant’s parent company, Alphabet.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
source: people.com
