Mumbai, December 18, 2025 – Neal Mohan, the CEO of YouTube, has been honored with the prestigious Global Indian of the Year award at the ET Awards 2025. This accolade recognizes Mohan's outstanding leadership and significant contributions to the streaming landscape, solidifying YouTube's position as a dominant force in the global media and entertainment industry.
Mohan, who assumed the role of CEO in 2023, succeeding Susan Wojcicki, has been instrumental in driving YouTube's growth and expanding its reach across various platforms. Under his guidance, YouTube has witnessed substantial gains in TV viewership through YouTube TV and smart-TV integrations, transforming it from a primarily mobile-video destination to a ubiquitous presence in households worldwide.
Estimates suggest that YouTube's standalone valuation has reached between $475 billion and $550 billion, representing approximately 30% of its parent company Alphabet's total valuation. This remarkable achievement underscores Mohan's strategic vision and his ability to navigate the rapidly evolving digital media landscape.
TIME magazine has also recognized Mohan's transformative leadership, naming him their 2025 CEO of the Year. The magazine highlighted YouTube's immense global influence, stating that it is "creating the cultural diet that the globe is beginning to subsist on" and describing Mohan as the "farmer" who cultivates it.
Mohan's journey to the helm of YouTube is a testament to his passion for technology and his cross-cultural experiences. Born in Lafayette, Indiana, while his father was pursuing a PhD at Purdue University, he spent his early childhood in the United States before moving to India in 1986. He later returned to the US for his higher education, earning degrees in electrical engineering and business from Stanford University.
Throughout his career, Mohan has held key positions at prominent technology companies, including NetGravity and DoubleClick, before joining Google. His expertise in digital media and advertising played a crucial role in shaping YouTube's product evolution and integrating it into Google's expanding ad ecosystem.
As CEO, Mohan is focused on ensuring that YouTube adapts to the ever-changing media industry. He emphasizes the importance of giving everyone a voice on the platform and fostering a creator-driven ecosystem. His commitment to innovation and his ability to anticipate future trends have been instrumental in YouTube's continued success.
The ET Awards' Global Indian of the Year honor and TIME's CEO of the Year recognition are a celebration of Mohan's exceptional leadership, strategic vision, and global impact. They also highlight the growing influence of Indian-origin executives in the technology industry and their contributions to shaping the digital landscape.
