Indian-Origin YouTube Chief Neal Mohan Wins Time Magazine’s CEO of the Year Award

Indian-origin CEO of YouTube, Neil Mohan, has been named Time magazine's CEO of the Year for 2025. Time, in particular, praised Mohan's vision to lead one of the most influential digital platforms in the world. In its profile, Time wrote, "YouTube is shaping the world's cultural tastes today. Neal Mohan is like a farmer on this vast farm; what he sows is what the world consumes."

The magazine referred to YouTube as 'fertile ground for world ideas and trends', where everybody gets to sow their own content-be it informative or controversial. According to the report, as YouTube's influence grows worldwide, Mohan's role in shaping its direction and policies has become increasingly important.

Time jokingly wrote, "Neel Mohan, the pilot of the world's most powerful distraction machine, has a surprisingly calm demeanor." According to the report, he enjoys watching sports, attending his daughters' dance recitals, and a simple lifestyle. Time stated that if he were asked to appear in a video, he probably wouldn't refuse, either, "not very good or very bad."

Neel Mohan is always aware of the rapid changes taking place in the media industry. In his words, the media industry is changing before our eyes. "These are highly disruptive times, and if you don't keep up with the changes, you're left behind." Regarding YouTube's policies, he said, "My fundamental principle of content moderation is giving everyone the opportunity to have a voice."

Neel Mohan was born in Lafayette, Indiana, but moved to Lucknow with his family in 1985 at the age of 12. He described the experience of learning Sanskrit as rule-based, like computer programming. Mohan succeeded Susan Wojcicki as CEO of YouTube in 2013. According to Time, his most important value is helping people be heard.