By Sam Boughedda
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down from her role, it was announced in a letter to employees posted on the company's blog on Thursday.
Wojcicki has led the world's largest video site for the last nine years but started her journey at YouTube's parent company Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) 25 years ago, going on to take various roles such as managing marketing, co-creating Google Image Search, leading Google's first Video and Book search, and working on early parts of AdSense's creation.
In the letter, Wojcicki says she has decided to step back from her role as the head of YouTube and "start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I'm passionate about."
"The time is right for me, and I feel able to do this because we have an incredible leadership team in place at YouTube," she adds.
Wojcicki will be replaced by Neal Mohan, currently YouTube's chief product officer and Wojcicki's longtime lieutenant at YouTube.
"Susan has a unique place in Google history and has made the most incredible contribution to products used by people everywhere," Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin said in a statement reported by Vox. "We're so grateful for all she's done over the last 25 years."