CEO YouTube Neal Mohan Named Time Magazine's 2025 CEO of the Year

Neal Mohan, Chief Executive Officer of YouTube, has been named CEO of the Year for the 2025 edition by Time magazine. This recognition highlights his central role in shaping the global cultural landscape through the platform's daily influence on billions of viewers worldwide.

The designation places Mohan among a distinguished cohort of Indian-origin technology executives leading major American corporations, including Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen. Time described Mohan, who assumed leadership in February 2023, as fostering a "cultural diet the world is beginning to consume." The magazine emphasized YouTube's strengthened position within the attention economy, supported by significant growth in both YouTube TV and the core application.

Mohan's profile drew an analogy to a farmer cultivating a garden, where his development directly feeds global consumption, underscoring the responsibility of steering what is sometimes termed the world's most powerful distraction engine. The profile noted Mohan’s characteristic composure, contrasting it with the scale of his operations, portraying him as reserved, thoughtful, and unflappable. His educational background includes formative studies in Lucknow, India, where he learned Sanskrit and Hindi, which he likened to learning computer programming due to their phonetic and rule-based structures. He later pursued studies in the United States, earning both an undergraduate degree and an MBA from Stanford University.

Prior to his tenure as CEO, Mohan served as YouTube's Chief Product Officer, a role in which he directed the development of key features, including the recommendation algorithms and the sophisticated monetization systems that have supported the platform's growth past two billion monthly users. His deep experience in digital advertising proved vital; he previously led Display and Video Ads at Google and was instrumental in Google's $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick in 2007.

Under Mohan's leadership since 2023, YouTube has solidified its dominance amid intense competition, focusing strategically on optimizing the platform for television screens and integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI). Half of all YouTube viewership now occurs via TV screens, driven by YouTube TV becoming a favored cable replacement and its free application. Furthermore, YouTube Shorts now reports two billion monthly logged-in users, positioning it on par with other short-form video leaders.

Mohan's current focus centers on leveraging AI to drive the next wave of growth, stressing that the technology must serve human creativity rather than replace it. He highlighted the launch of tools such as Veo 3, a new AI video generation tool, and an auto-dubbing feature that automatically translates videos into eight other languages, aiming to remove language barriers for global creators. The platform has also paid out over $100 billion to creators, artists, and media companies between 2021 and 2023, demonstrating a commitment to the creator economy.

Mohan’s leadership has also tested the platform’s resilience against regulatory scrutiny and content challenges; for instance, in 2025, YouTube settled a major $24.5 million lawsuit under his oversight. Additionally, he recently permitted previously banned creators to return to the platform, arguing that policies must evolve with changing scientific understanding and social context since the COVID-19 pandemic. YouTube's influence extends into the audio sphere, where one-third of podcast listeners now cite the platform as their primary listening method, surpassing Spotify. Mohan, with his strong technical foundation, continues to guide the video giant through rapid technological disruption, ensuring the platform remains a primary stage for global cultural expression and consumption.