Not only have marketers been pausing ad spend en masse, YouTube is also battling TikTok for audiences and content creators. Industry insiders credit Mohan with building out the ad products that made YouTube Google's main growth engine for so many years. Tal Chalozin, CTO and cofounder of the adtech company Innovid, said that Mohan's expertise stretches across all of YouTube's ad business, particularly adtech. "He was leading product for the launch of YouTube Premium and YouTube TV, and the growth of YouTube Music," said one former YouTube employee. "It's now Neal and YouTube against TikTok, and that's the existential battle for short-form video monetization and creators," Norman said.

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