Google's Most Senior Female Executive Tapped to Run YouTube Susan Wojcicki, Google's 16th employee, has been named CEO of YouTube as the company sharpens its focus on the video sharing property's ad-selling prospects.
By Geoff Weiss
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Seeking new challenges, the most senior female executive at Google is set to preside over a brand new domain -- the company's multibillion-dollar video sharing property, YouTube.
In a lateral move, Susan Wojcicki -- the 16th employee at Google, which was actually founded out of her Menlo Park garage -- will transition out of her role as senior vice president of advertising and commerce.
In turn, Salar Kamangar, Google's ninth employee -- who has served as YouTube's CEO since 2010 -- is rumored to be joining the internet giant's venture capital arm.
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"Like Salar, Susan has a healthy disregard for the impossible and is excited about improving YouTube in ways that people will love," Google CEO Larry Page said in a statement.
Wojcicki has long been a champion of YouTube since its acquisition in 2006 for $1.65 billion, and the management shakeup implies a sharpening focus on the division's plateauing ad revenues, reports Forbes. While immensely profitable, YouTube is still dwarfed by the $200 billion television advertising industry, meaning a trove of opportunities still linger.
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Though YouTube netted $5.6 billion last year and accounts for 21 percent of all video ad revenue in the United States, according to research firm eMarketer, it has recently encountered a few bumps.
In addition to the first-ever YouTube Music Awards, widely considered a flop, many video creators are balking at sinking ad prices in an increasingly congested community, notes The New York Times.
Wojcicki's appointment represents the latest reshuffling of Google's uber-exclusive L-Team -- a pool of senior executives that report directly to Page. Wojcicki formerly shared the ads and commerce leadership position with Sridhar Ramaswamy, who will now head the division alone.
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