It is no secret that Google’s retention methods for Mohan are not only astonishing but also a matter of public debate. The incredibly competitive environment within Silicon Valley drives these technological companies to outsource their talent at ever-increasing salaries, which sometimes poses an immediate threat to company leaders’ employment, forcing them to take extreme measures to retain them. All of this comes together to one astonishing fact: maintaining Mohan at Google came at the price of losing over $100 million due to the decline in productivity that ensued with his departure.
The High-Stakes Tug-of-War: Google vs. Twitter
Mohan’s dispute with Google over Twitter escalated in 2011. Back then he was still a desperately sought talent at Google’s advertising and YouTube product strategy department. Google’s schism with Twitter appeared in the C-level talent search, where Twitter had highlighted Mohan as the centerpiece of their CPO search for product leadership. That also included hiring his old boss from DoubleClick, David Rosenblatt, to Twitter’s board. To answer this, Google escalated its arms race.
The $100 million retention pack
The amount is big enough to shock anyone, but it is even more impressive that Google was guaranteed to triple their expenditure in case they executed the plan. Google’s last attempt to keep Mohan was grand partly because he responded to a financial ultimatum and guaranteed the revenues even in case of parachuting off the cliff. He extended the window of execution to several years with staggered stock options worth nine figures, not fully cashable unless spending half a decade with Google.
The Evolution of Neal Mohan—A Silicon Valley Visionary with a Stanford Background
Mohan’s career in technology started following his graduation from Stanford’s electrical engineering program. His professional career began at Andersen Consulting, now known as Accenture. He later worked at a startup, NetGravity, which was bought by DoubleClick. While working at DoubleClick, Mohan became the vice president of business operations. He later joined Google’s leadership team when they bought DoubleClick for $3.1 billion in 2007.
Managing Advertising Operations at Google and YouTube
By 2011, Mohan was able to influence the launching of new Google advertising products and was responsible for defining key milestones for Google’s YouTube product strategy. His strategic foresight alongside execution facilitated Google’s ability to dominate the ad network and assisted YouTube in evolving into the largest video hosting website. This earned Mohan a remarkable retention offer from Google.
One of the Many Victims: A Competition for Elite Industry Employees
Mohan’s struggles with competing for attention were part of a more concerning circumstance for Silicon Valley. Along this timeline, there were attempts from Twitter to bring in Sundar Pichai, the head of Chrome and Chrome OS at Google. Google offered an unprecedented stock option worth $50 million to Pichai, who later became CEO of Google and Alphabet, making him one of the many victims. These shifts underscore the tremendous regard for executive leaders in technology.
Modern Governance: Mohan Mohan holds the record of being YouTube’s first Indian CEO.
Google’s investment in Mohan was profitable. He also perpetually enhanced the value of the company with his devotion towards innovation, including growth at Google and YouTube, till he succeeded Susan Wojcicki as CEO of YouTube in 2023, after her leave from the company, thanks to her guidance. Currently, he serves as the president and chief executive of the Mohan Group of Companies and is arguably the most powerful Indian-American executive in the world of technology. Mohan is a pioneer in the field of digital media and advertising.
