Robert Kyncl is leaving YouTube

YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl is leaving the company.

He’ll exit in early 2023, according to a staff memo sent today by CEO Susan Wojcicki. The memo was first obtained by Variety.

Kyncl joined YouTube in 2010, and as CBO has overseen everything from content (including YouTube’s ultimately ill-fated Originals push) to sales, marketing, and growth strategy.

“Under his leadership, YouTube forged new relationships and partnerships in music, traditional media and tech, and our creator ecosystem – without him, the term ‘YouTuber’ wouldn’t be a mainstream term,” Wojcicki wrote.

She added, “Thanks to Robert and his leadership team, we are meaningfully contributing to the media industry, having paid more than $30B to creators, artists and media companies in the last 3 years. We owe so much of our growth and impact to Robert’s leadership, and I want to celebrate his amazing contribution to YouTube.”

When Kyncl leaves next year, he’ll be replaced by Mary Ellen Coe, who joined Google in 2012 and currently serves as president of Google Customer Solutions, where she oversees global ads for midmarket and small businesses, per Variety. Coe previously spent 12 years with management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

In her memo, Wojcicki described Coe as a “smart, effective leader who cares deeply about our users and her people.”

Kyncl’s exit isn’t the only staff change at YouTube of late. In July, it hired tech YouTuber Rene Ritchie to replace Matt Koval as its new Creator Liaison; and, less than two weeks ago, it brought in Kim Larson, a 10-year Google veteran, as its new Global Head of YouTube Creators.

The company lost its Global Head of Gaming, Ryan Wyatt, earlier this year, along with VP and Global Head of Product Partnerships Heather Rivera, and Senior Director of Creator Partnerships Jamie Byrne.

It’s still seeking a new Global Head of Gaming Creators after Lester Chen exited last month.

You can read Wojcicki’s complete memo below.

Hi everyone,

After 12 years of building YouTube’s business organization into the powerhouse that it is today, with a talented global team, millions of successful creators, and strong partnerships with many industries, Robert has decided to leave YouTube in 2023 to start the next chapter in his career. Under his leadership, YouTube forged new relationships and partnerships in music, traditional media and tech, and our creator ecosystem – without him, the term “YouTuber” wouldn’t be a mainstream term. Thanks to Robert and his leadership team, we are meaningfully contributing to the media industry, having paid more than $30B to creators, artists and media companies in the last 3 years. We owe so much of our growth and impact to Robert’s leadership, and I want to celebrate his amazing contribution to YouTube.

Change gives us the opportunity to examine where we are and where we need to go, and I’m really excited to share that we’ve hired a new Chief Business Officer, Mary Ellen Coe, to lead the business organization. Mary Ellen has spent the last 10 years with Google, most recently as President of Customer Solutions in GBO, serving millions of customers and thousands of partners globally. She has extensive experience working with small businesses and can bring that expertise to our work with creators, many of whom are their own small businesses. Before Google, she worked across consumer, media, and tech for more than a decade as a Partner with McKinsey & Company. I’ve had the privilege of working with Mary Ellen over the years and she is a smart, effective leader who cares deeply about our users, partners and her people. She will start October 3, and Christina, Gautam, Lyor, Pedro, Tara, and our recently hired VP of Product Partnerships, Miguel, will report to her.

Given the complexity of our business, I appreciate that Robert is going to stay on to ensure a smooth transition of leadership and complete key projects in music and product partnerships.

I want to thank Robert for his dedication to YouTube all these years. He’s exceptional at what he does and I’m so grateful for the many years we’ve been able to work together. I’ll miss his candor, authenticity and humor.

And please join me in welcoming Mary Ellen to YouTube.

Thank you,

Susan