Google Ads boss Jerry Dischler steps down

Google Ads exec Jerry Dischler has stepped down after more than 15 years to take on a new challenge.

The tech giant was not able to disclose what the “new challenge” is, but a spokesperson told Search Engine Land that the decision was not related to the recent federal antitrust trial:

• “Jerry has been working in ads for so long – after that amount of time, it’s natural for someone to want to try something new. So he’s moving off ads. We can’t confirm where he’s going just yet, but hopefully, we may have something exciting to announce soon.”

Takeover. Vidhya Srinivasan, who previously led product and engineering for ads, will take over to lead the Ads team and will report directly to Google’s Senior Vice President, Prabhakar Raghavan.

Shashi Thakur, who has worked for Google for 17 years, will take on Srinivasan’s previous role and report directly to her, covering ads for Google’s core business.

Official statement. Google’s Vice President, Raghavan, said in a statement:

• “After more than 15 years on Google’s ads business, Jerry Dischler decided to take on a new challenge.”
• “Our ads business helps millions of businesses thrive and we’re grateful to Jerry for his many accomplishments in this area. We’re also excited to elevate Vidhya Srinivasan, a seasoned leader with deep technical expertise who currently leads our search ads business, to lead Ads.”
• “With a track record of significant innovations across privacy, measurement, AI, search ads and beyond, Vidhya is the natural successor for this role.”