Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube Inc, during an interview on 'The Circuit with Emily Chang' at YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California, (Photographer: Philip Pacheco/Bloomberg)
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan has been named Time CEO of the Year for 2025. Describing Mohan, TIME said the pilot of the world's most powerful distraction machine is "surprisingly mellow".
“He’s quiet-spoken, deliberative, hard to ruffle. He likes watching sports, going to his daughters’ dance recitals, and open white shirts, just normal stuff,” mentioned Time in its report.
Mohan has been the CEO of the social media and online video sharing platform since 2023 – a role he took over after Google's founding employees, Susan Wojcicki – decided to step down. He is also a member on the Board of Directors of Starbucks.
Neal Mohan became a part of Google, YouTube's parent company, in 2008. Before becoming the CEO, he was the chief product officer of the company.
Where was Neal Mohan born?
Born in Lafayette in Indiana, Neal Mohan reportedly spent most of his childhood growing up in the United States before moving to Lucknow in India with his parents in 1985 when he was 12.
Neal Mohan's education
Mohan completed his graduation degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1996, mentions his LinkedIn profile. Later, the YouTube chief also completed his MBA from the Ivy League school in 2005, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.
An Arjay Miller Scholar at Stanford Graduate School of Business is one among the top 10% of the graduating MBA class recognised for outstanding academic achievement in a program.
Not just a Stanford graduate, Neal Mohan is also an advisory council member of Stanford GSB and Council on Foreign Relations.
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Mohan has been the CEO of the social media and online video sharing platform since 2023
On having to learn and study Sanskrit, Mohan has said, "It’s incredibly phonetic and rules-oriented... It was like learning computer programming, basically.”
Neal Mohan's take on job losses due to AI
During YouTube's annual Made on YouTube product launch event in September, Neal Mohan had dismissed the idea that rapid expansion of AI capabilities would replace the jobs of content creators.
"These are tools, and really just that," Mohan said. “Make no mistake: no studio, network, tech company, or AI tool will own the future of entertainment,” the YouTube chief had said during the event in New York, reported Reuters.
Earlier this year, the YouTube chief outlined the company’s plans to make greater use of AI — including for age estimation. Creators can also take advantage of features like auto dubbing between languages or use AI tools to help brainstorm video titles or image thumbnails.
