Neal Mohan's Journey: From Stanford Scholar to YouTube CEO
Ever heard of Neal Mohan? In 2011, Google offered him a staggering $100 million – approximately ₹450 crores – just to stop him from defecting to Twitter. Today, he leads YouTube as its Chief Executive Officer.
His parents belong to Lucknow in
Uttar Pradesh. His father, Aditya Mohan, is an IIT-Kharagpur alumnus who moved
to the United States in early 1970s to pursue PhD in Civil Engineering. Neal
was born in Lafayette (Indiana State of USA) on July 14, 1973. He spent majority
of his formative years in America.
Later his parents returned to
India in 1985. Neal was enrolled in St. Francis School in Lucknow in 1986.
It was a dramatic change for him. A kid brought up in USA struggled to speak
and learn Hindi. He studied there till Class XII before joining Stanford
University for a BSc in Electrical Engineering. At St. Francis, Neal Mohan met some
of the best friends of his life and he had a little software start-up which
built software for other high school kids and teachers. That was his early
encounter with technology.
Neal graduated from Stanford as
an Arjay Miller Scholar, a distinction awarded to the top 10% of his class.
After earning his Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from Stanford
in 1996, he began his career at Accenture before joining the startup
NetGravity. NetGravity was acquired by DoubleClick in 2002. It was at
DoubleClick that he truly began to make his mark, rising to Vice President of
Business Operations. His strategic acumen played a critical role in
DoubleClick's success, making it an attractive acquisition target for Google.
In 2007, Google acquired DoubleClick for $3.1 billion, and Mohan moved to Google.
In 2015, Mohan was appointed
Chief Product Officer of YouTube. There he spearheaded many significant
ventures including expansion of YouTube TV, YouTube Music, YouTube Premium, and
the immensely popular YouTube Shorts. In February 2023, Neal Mohan ascended to
the highest position at YouTube, succeeding long-time CEO Susan Wojcicki. As
CEO, Mohan's responsibilities include overseeing all aspects of YouTube's
product development, user experience, and global operations. He is deeply
committed to ensuring YouTube remains the premier platform for creators,
viewers, and advertisers worldwide.
As the YouTube CEO, Neal Mohan earns
a monthly salary of approximately Rs 3.1 crore. This translates into
approximately Rs. 1 lakh per hour. His net worth today is approximately Rs.
1,242 crores. Beyond his role in Google, Neal serves on the Board of
Directors for 23andMe and StitchFix. He is also an Advisory Council Member at
Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, and is a member of the
Council of Foreign Relations.
Neal Mohan's journey from a tech-savvy engineer to the CEO of a global media powerhouse like YouTube is a proof of his foresight in shaping the future of digital content. His initiatives have impacted billions of people around the world who watch, create, and interact with digital media.
Ravindra Zinjurke