Vanessa Pappas

Vanessa Pappas is currently interim Head of TikTok globally. She oversees content, operations, marketing, and product teams for the video platform. Previously she served as Global Head of Creative Insights, YouTube. In this role, she oversaw YouTube’s global creator research & trends, audience development, creative strategy and growth teams. Who’s focus was to drive platform and creator growth across key markets and user segments.

Prior to this, Pappas was Global Head of Audience Development, YouTube, focused on developing audience building strategies and working to build loyalty for creators and their content. Working cross functionally with YouTube's core product, marketing, strategy and content teams. In this role, she also developed the YouTube Creator Playbook, the definitive resource for building viewership on YouTube, which has reached over 20MM creators to date. The Playbook has now expanded to it's own division at YouTube which encompasses the YouTube Creator Academy and YouTube Certification program.

Before joining YouTube, Pappas was Vice President of Programming and Audience Development at online video leader Next New Networks where she spearheaded their business partnerships and audience development efforts that led to the company's viewership growth to over 2 billion total views. In March 2011 Next New Networks was acquired by YouTube/Google.

Pappas has a background in strategy & development, online media, education, and commercial production. She has received two Masters degrees in Media from the New School and the University of Queensland.