Ex-YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki dies at 56 after cancer battle

Susan Wojcicki, who served as CEO of YouTube for nine years and was one of Google’s earliest hires, passed away on Friday at age 56 after battling cancer, her family has announced.

Wojcicki’s husband, Dennis Troper, shared the heartbreaking news in a Facebook post on Friday evening.

“It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing. My beloved wife of 26 years and mother to our five children left us today after 2 years of living with non-small cell lung cancer,” Troper wrote. “Susan was not just my best friend and partner in life, but a brilliant mind, a loving mother, and a dear friend to many. Her impact on our family and the world was immeasurable.”

“We are heartbroken, but grateful for the time we had with her. Please keep our family in your thoughts as we navigate this difficult time,” he added.

Wojcicki joined Google in 1999 as the company’s 16th employee, becoming the search engine’s first marketing executive. She played a pivotal role in launching Google Video and oversaw the company’s 2006 acquisition of YouTube, a then-emerging rival video-upload site, according to Variety.

She was appointed CEO of YouTube in 2014 and navigated the platform through significant growth. Wojcicki stepped down in February 2023, citing her desire to “start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects.”

Current YouTube CEO Neal Mohan paid tribute to Wojcicki in a social media post.

“I had the good fortune of meeting Susan 17 years ago … I am forever grateful for her friendship and guidance,” Mohan wrote in part. “I will miss her tremendously. My heart goes out to her family and loved ones.”

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and Alphabet, expressed his deep sorrow over Wojcicki’s passing in an emotional post.

“She is as core to the history of Google as anyone, and it’s hard to imagine the world without her,” Pichai wrote. “She was an incredible person, leader, and friend who had a tremendous impact on the world, and I’m one of countless Googlers who is better for knowing her. We will miss her dearly. Our thoughts are with her family. RIP Susan.”

Susan Wojcicki was born on July 5, 1989, in Santa Clara, California. She was the daughter of Stanley Wojcicki, a physics professor at Stanford, and Esther Wojcicki, a teacher. She attended Harvard University and later earned a master’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Additionally, she received an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Wojcicki is survived by her husband and four children. The family previously endured another tragedy when her son Marco, 19, died of a drug overdose at UC Berkeley in February.

Source: Variety, Facebook