Longtime Google executive Susan Wojcicki is the new CEO of YouTube.
Thanks to her lengthy tenure – Google's office was once her garage – and her success running Google's massive ads business, Wojcicki is one of Google CEO Larry Page's most trusted confidantes.
So much so, that there is a saying at Google: "What Susan wants, Susan gets."
According to a report in The Information, she told Page she wanted to be a CEO, and would leave Google to become one if she had to. So she got the YouTube job.
But what about Shishir Mehrotra?
Mehrotra is YouTube's vice president of product. According to LinkedIn, he is "responsible for YouTube product, engineering, and user experience teams including consumer, content creator, and monetization functions."
For some months now, it's been out there YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar has been looking to exit that job for a new challenge at Google. Many said that Kamangar, himself a longtime Googler and Page confidante, had already returned to the mothership, and was mostly focused on advising Page.
Kamangar's presumed successor was always his top lieutenant at YouTube, Mehrotra.
In fact, the word from many Googlers was that Mehrotra was already essentially running YouTube.
Obviously, he won't be any longer. Wojcicki wanted that job. She got it.
One of Wojcicki's first big challenges will be making sure the guy who didn't sticks around.
Fortunately, executive retention is something Google has gotten very good at – mostly because it is willing to pay extreme compensation. Back in 2011, Twitter tried to hire Google ads executive Neal Mohan to lead its product development. Wojkicki, his boss at Google, made him a $100 million counter offer. He stayed at Google.
We'd like to hear more from Googlers and YouTubers on Mehrotra, Kamangar, and Wojcicki. Email nicholas@jkmperu.com.
