23. Susan Wojcicki*
CEO, YouTube – 2014-2023
Joining a select group of female Silicon Valley CEOs when she took the helm of YouTube in 2014, Wojcicki helped grow the Google-owned video platform from 1bn to 2.5bn users during her nine-year tenure.
Three of the 60 channel leaders IT Channel Oxygen asked put Wojcicki in their top five.
Wojcicki was Google’s 16th employee, renting out her garage to its founders in 1998.
Once dubbed “the most powerful woman in advertising”, and ranking seventh and 10th in Fortune’s and Forbes’ respective rundowns of the world’s most powerful women in 2018, she stepped down from YouTube last year to spend more time on “family, health, and personal projects”.
Leadership style
Wojcicki has been a vocal advocate of gender equality and diversity, telling the Guardian in 2019 that YouTube’s female staff had risen from a quarter to a third on her watch. She used her clout to speak up for increasing paid maternity leave.
Low points
During her tenure, Wojcicki took constant heat over YouTube’s content moderation strategy and claims of spreading fake news.
Killer quote
“Whether it’s salary or a promotion or a job, I think it’s important for women to ask for what they think they deserve.” (see here)
What our panellists said about Wojcicki
Colin Brown, Non-Executive Director, Advania UK
“There are a great number of reasons to admire Susan Wojcicki for her role as CEO as YouTube. The longevity of nine years in this role alone is an achievement in a milieu where change is constant. The numbers are impressive – taking YT from 1 to 2.5bn users, as well as the constant reinvention for how the platform is used, monetised and valued has been phenomenal. And although this might seem like a strange reason to admire someone, I think that the fact Susan steered the ship throughout this time, which included some controversial periods, without putting herself in the limelight or seeking attention, is hugely creditworthy in this day and age!”
*Since the publication of this article, Wojcicki tragically passed away, aged just 56. She had been living with cancer for two years, her husband said.
How did IT Channel Oxygen compile The Century’s Greatest Vendor Leaders? See here
22 leaders were scored higher by our channel panel. See next page for more…
