New YouTube CEO Neal Mohan could’ve been with Twitter, but Google paid him $100 million to stay

YouTube's new CEO Neal Mohan is a formidable figure in the tech industry known for his quiet demeanour and for getting work done behind the scenes. While his work at Google and YouTube is well known, there’s a lesser-known tale that could have changed Mohan's life, Google, YouTube and even Twitter.

Let's start from the beginning. After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering from Stanford in 1996, Mohan had a short stint at Andersen Consulting (Accenture). In 1997, he joined a startup called Net Gravity that sold enterprise software to digital marketers.

By the end of 1997, NetGravity was acquired by a larger Internet advertising startup called DoubleClick. He met David Rosenblatt during his time at the company, who was an executive at the time.

Mohan's role at DoubleClick expanded from services to sales operations to Vice President, Business Operations in five years.

A pause and a tryst with Google

In 2003, after a successful few years at DoubleClick, Mohan hit a pause on his professional life and went back to Stanford University to get his MBA.

Meanwhile, DoubleClick was going through major solvency issues. In 2004, Rosenblatt came in to serve as the CEO of DoubleClick and moved the company forward from troubled times. Rosenblatt called up Mohan soon after he finished his MBA for his product expertise.

At the time, Mohan had offers from Google and other tech companies but he agreed to rejoin DoubleClick as their head of products. Mohan and Rosenblatt together created a strategy and roadmap for DoubleClick.

And as fate would have it, Mohan did end up at Google after the tech giant bought DoubleClick for $3.1 billion in 2007. He and his team thrived at Google.

Twitter's job offer and Google’s counter

Mohan has been an important figure at Google since 2007. He was instrumental in the development of the platform's advertising products and has helped to grow YouTube's revenue. As Chief Product Officer, he oversaw all of YouTube's product development and innovation.

Mohan’s expertise in the world of product and strategy was widely known in silicon valley. Around 2011, Twitter was looking for a new person for leading their product team. Mohan was reportedly a top candidate for the position, and Twitter was said to be in advanced talks with him about taking over as chief product officer. However, Google was not prepared to let him go without a fight.

In 2011, it was reported by Tech Crunch that Google had paid over $100 million to Mohan to retain him and prevent him from leaving the company to join Twitter. The $100 million payment to Mohan is reportedly in the form of stock and was contingent on him staying at Google for a certain period of time. The payment was a sign of the importance that Google placed on Mohan's role at the company, as well as the intense competition for top talent in the tech industry.

While $100 million is an extraordinary amount of money, it is not uncommon for top executives in the tech industry to receive large compensation packages.

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