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New YouTube CEO Neal Mohan an alumnus of Lucknow’s St Francis’ College
After completing class 12 at St Francis College in Lucknow, Neal Mohan went to the United States where he graduated in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
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Neal Mohan, an Indian-American, who has been named as YouTube’s next chief executive officer (CEO), studied at St Francis’ College, Hazratganj, in Lucknow between 1986 and 1991.
After completing class 12 at St Francis College in Lucknow, Neal Mohan went to the United States where he graduated in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
His teacher and batchmates are happy at his achievements. Mohan replaces Susan Wojcicki who on Thursday announced that she stepped down from her role.
Lucknow University professor Nishi Pandey, who was his class teacher in class 9 at St Francis’ College, said, “Neal was topper of his batch and was good in academics.”
“I remember him as he remained very quiet in the class. But he was good in studies and was usually the topper in the school exam. Though he was not in touch with many of us as he was more of a private person.”
His batchmate, cardiologist Dr Rishi Sethi of Lari Hospital here, said, “He was a good friend and a perfect gentleman. We spent a good six-seven years together at St Francis’ College. He was a close friend and I visited his River Bank Colony house many times. I last met him some 10 years ago when I went to the U.S. He is more of a private person who prefers to stay away from socialising.”
School principal Fr Rajesh D’ Souza said, “Some of his batchmates and past pupils told me over the phone that Neal Mohan is a pass- out of the college. It is a proud moment for all Francisians.”
Shantanu Kumar, another batchmate of Mohan who is involved in online education, said, “He is not in touch with many of his batchmates for the last several years maybe because he is too preoccupied with his work. But we are extremely proud as he takes over as CEO of YouTube.
Sajid Mansoor, vice president at HSBC Global Finance Operations, said, “We were in school together. Bright and talented student. We knew he would do something great. He moved out of Lucknow and we lost touch since then. We are very proud of his achievement.”
Neal Mohan, a long-time lieutenant of Susan Wojcicki, joined Google with the DoubleClick acquisition in 2007. Mohan was appointed chief product officer at YouTube in 2015. He focused on building YouTube Shorts, Music and subscription offerings in the role.
