Susan Wojcicki, Google employee #16 and current Ads SVP, is
going to be the next CEO of YouTube. She replaces Salar Kamangar, who will remain with the company in another role according to Re/code.
Wojcicki confirmed the move in a tweet earlier today. She takes over the site at a time of transition as YouTube tries to both generate more revenue as well as reinvent itself in the mold of cable TV.
Data aggregator eMarketer estimated that YouTube brought in $5.6 billion in gross ad revenue last year on a global basis. According to comScore Google (primarily YouTube) is the top video property online.
The site was originally acquired in 2006 in an all stock deal worth roughly $1.65 billion. It was purchased in part to help lure brand advertising revenue to Google as well as to give Google a “social” property.
With the rise of mobile video and the upbeat outlook for mobile video advertising, not to mention the success of Google Chromecast, YouTube has a range of provocative content distribution and advertising opportunities. Wojcicki herself is a YouTube enthusiast and was reportedly an early proponent of the acquisition within Google.
We’ve got a request into Google for comment and will update this post if we learn anything further.
Postscript: In a statement attributed to Google CEO Larry Page, the company has now confirmed Wojcicki’s new role at YouTube:
Salar and the whole YouTube team have built something amazing. YouTube is a billion person global community curating videos for every possibility. Anyone uploading their creative content can reach the whole world and even make money. Like Salar, Susan has a healthy disregard for the impossible and is excited about improving YouTube in ways that people will love.
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