Neal Mohan of YouTube Named Time’s CEO of the Year for 2025
YouTube’s chief executive, Neal Mohan, has earned Time magazine’s 2025 CEO of the Year honor.
“I’d describe the current media landscape as a sweeping transformation taking place right before our eyes,” Mohan told Time in a December 4 interview. “The changes are extraordinarily disruptive, and without adapting, one can quickly fall behind.”
Over the last two decades, YouTube—part of Google—has established itself as the world’s leading video platform. It has become the go-to launching pad for countless self-made creators, podcasters, commentators, and entrepreneurs, and gradually has secured a foothold in the traditional television arena through lucrative rights deals with major players such as the NFL, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and NBCUniversal.
Mohan described YouTube as “a bustling city with many interconnected dependencies, where actions on one street influence outcomes on another.” He contrasted this with the platform’s early days, which felt more like a village where many creators knew one another. He added that leading a platform with this scale requires considering decisions from a broader, interdependent perspective.
Notably, YouTube became the exclusive U.S. retailer for the NFL’s Sunday Ticket out-of-home package starting with the 2023-24 season, taking the rights away from DirecTV and outperforming rivals that were also vying for the deal, including Apple.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell weighed in on Mohan’s readiness, saying, “Neal is exceptionally well prepared. He understands the objective, has a deep grasp of the media landscape, knows where YouTube fits, and recognizes how content can propel his strategic vision.”
