Google Taps Ad Exec Susan Wojcicki to Head YouTube: Report

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The YouTube logo at a reception on Jan. 20, 2014 in Park City, Utah.

Image: Andrew Walker/Getty Images Entertainment

By Jason Abbruzzese2014-02-05 10:30:23 -0500

Some people go from rags to riches, others from the garage to the boardroom.

It looks like the latter for Google ad exec Susan Wojcicki who will be appointed CEO of YouTube, according to multiple reports.

See also: 20 Funniest YouTube Videos According to Reddit

Wojcicki, who currently serves as Google's senior vice-president of ads and commerce, previously housed the tech company in the garage of her Menlo Park, Calif. home in 1998, and was Google's 16th employee. She is set to replace Salar Kamangar, another longtime Googler, who will take on a new role at Google, according to Re/code .

A 2013 report by market-research company eMarketer highlighted the growing share of Google revenue brought in by YouTube, which grew from an estimated 5.5% in 2011 to 11.1% in 2013.

Wojcicki's appointment brings an online-ad veteran to YouTube's top position at a crucial point for the video-sharing site.

Despite recent revenue growth, there are concerns over falling ad prices, as well as the impact of a revenue-sharing model that sought to attract content makers. An increase in new content has made it more difficult for any one YouTube channel to get noticed, and ad rates have fallen considerably, according to Businessweek

YouTube also faces growing competition in the online-video-advertising market, which it used to dominate. AOL now poses a credible threat, and Facebook entered the fray last December.

YouTube is also reportedly preparing to launch a subscription-music service.

The service has grown into one of the major players in music streaming, having paid more than $1 billion to music-rights holders over the past few years. Forbes recently said YouTube "is poised to become the most dominant force in music worldwide."

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Topics: Business, Media, Video, YouTube