In a striking example of Silicon Valley’s talent wars, Google reportedly paid Indian-American tech executive Neal Mohan $100 million in restricted stock units in 2011 to prevent him from joining Twitter. At the time, Mohan was a central figure in Google’s advertising and YouTube product strategy, and his former boss David Rosenblatt was trying to bring him on board as Twitter’s Chief Product Officer.
The revelation resurfaced during a podcast by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, where Mohan did not deny the claim. The move proved pivotal for Google, as Mohan went on to play a key role in shaping YouTube’s future. Today, he serves as the CEO of YouTube, while Sundar Pichai, also courted by Twitter during the same period – remains at the helm of Google and Alphabet.
