Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, who can also be probably the most influential early Google worker, has died on the age of 56, based on online posts by her husband Dennis Troper and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Friday evening.
Wojicki led YouTube for nearly a decade and was one in all the few women to carry the CEO position at a significant Silicon Valley technology company.
Wojcicki’s husband Dennis Troper wrote on Facebook early Friday evening: “It is with deep sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki Passing away. My beloved wife of 26 years and mother of our five children passed away today after battling non-small cell lung cancer for two years.”
Pichai confirmed the death and the cancer condition in one post on social media and wrote that the loss made him “incredibly sad.”
In a note In a letter to employees, Pichai described Wojcicki as “probably the most energetic and vibrant people I even have ever met. Her loss is devastating for all of us who know and love her, for the 1000’s of Googlers she led through the years, and for the hundreds of thousands of individuals all over the world who looked as much as her, benefited from her dedication and leadership, and felt the impact of the incredible things she created at Google, YouTube, and beyond.”
“Susan's journey from the garage she rented to Larry and Sergey… to leading consumer products teams and constructing our ad business… to becoming CEO of YouTube, probably the most significant platforms on the earth, is inspiring in every way. But she didn't stop there. As one in all the primary Googlers – and the primary to take maternity leave – Susan used her position to create a greater workplace for everybody. And within the years that followed, her commitment to parental leave set a brand new standard for firms all over the place. Susan was also very captivated with education. She recognized early on that YouTube might be a learning platform for the world and championed 'edutubers' – especially those that were expanding the reach of STEM education to underserved communities.”
Wojcicki, 56, joined YouTube as CEO in 2014. She stepped down from the position in February 2023 and said she would continue to work with YouTube teams, coach members and meet with creators.
She helped build Google into a technology giant from its earliest days and is considered a pioneer of some of its most successful products.
When she founded Google, she let Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin work from her home in Menlo Park, California. Page and Brin rented the garage space from her for $1,700 a month. Wojcicki was working in Intel's marketing department at the time.
When she joined Google in 1999 as its 16th employee, Wojcicki spent 14 years developing and building Google's advertising and analytics products. She played a key role in developing Google's advertising business, including co-creating AdSense, one of the company's most successful products.
In 2006, she pushed for Google's acquisition of YouTube, which cost $1.65 billion at the time.
“The founders trust Susan perhaps greater than anyone else on the earth,” said Patrick Keane, one of Google's first sales leaders, in the 2022 book “Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTube's Chaotic Rise to World Domination.” “You could never faze Susan, regardless of how difficult the moment.”
“If people couldn't talk sense into him, she still could,” said former Google director and former Silicon Valley workplace influencer Kim Scott, known in the book as the “Larry Whisperer,” referring to Google co-founder Larry Page.
During her tenure as YouTube CEO, Wojcicki oversaw the company's rapid expansion and helped make it the largest video platform in the world. YouTube now has more than 2.5 billion monthly active users, according to the company, and more than 500 hours of content are uploaded to the platform every minute.
The announcement of her death sparked a wave of condolences from numerous top technology and venture capital leaders on Friday evening.
“I used to be fortunate to satisfy Susan 17 years ago when she was the architect of the DoubleClick acquisition,” wrote current YouTube CEO Neal Mohan in a social Media report on Friday evening. “Her legacy lives on in the whole lot she touched at Google and YouTube.”
“She taught me the business and helped me navigate a growing, fairly chaotic organization early in my profession within the technology industry,” said former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg in a social media post. “As probably the most necessary female leaders within the technology industry – the primary to steer a significant company – she was committed to expanding opportunities for ladies across Silicon Valley. I don't think my profession can be what it’s today without her unwavering support.”
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of my dear colleague and friend @SusanWojcicki,” wrote Google chief scientist Jeff Dean on Social Media Friday night. “She has had a profound impact on everyone at Google and has touched the lives of so many individuals.”
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