Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO and influential Google executive, dies at 56

Susan Wojcickiwho served as CEO of YouTube for nine years during a period of massive growth for the video platform and was one of Google’s first hires, died on Friday, August 9. She was 56 years old.

Wojcicki’s death after a two-year fight with cancer was announced by her husband, Dennis Troper, in a public post Friday night on Facebook.

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“It is with deep sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki’s passing. My beloved wife of 26 years and mother of our five children left us today after 2 years living with non-small cell lung cancer,” Troper wrote on publish. “Susan was not only my best friend and partner in life, but also 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 spent with her. Please keep our family in your thoughts as we navigate this difficult time.”

Sundar PichaiCEO of Google and Alphabet, named after posted on X said: “Unbelievably saddened by the loss of my dear friend @SusanWojcicki after two years living with cancer. She is as important to Google’s story as anyone else, and it’s hard to imagine the world without her.” Pichai continued: “She was an incredible person, leader and friend who had a tremendous impact on the world and I am one of countless Googlers who is better for knowing her. We will miss her very much. Our thoughts with her family. Rest in peace, Susan.”

Wojcicki joined Google in 1999 as its 16th employee, becoming the search engine’s first marketing executive. Co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin initially ran the company from their garage in Menlo Park, California. Among her other accomplishments, she closed the company’s first deals to license search technology and led the early development of Google’s image search.

In February 2014, Wojcicki was named CEO of YouTube. Google’s appointment of Wojcicki, one of the company’s most senior executives, reflected how important the video platform had become to its advertising business. She stepped down as CEO of YouTube in February 2023remaining as a consultant for the company.

Neal Mohan, who succeeded Wojcicki as CEO of YouTube, said he was “fortunate enough to meet Susan 17 years ago when she was the architect of the acquisition of DoubleClick,” the advertising technology company where he was an executive. “Her legacy lives on in everything she touched @google and @youtube,” Mohan wrote on X. “I will be forever grateful for your friendship and guidance. I will miss her very much. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones.”

In his various stints at Google, Wojcicki oversaw product management for AdSense, Google Book Search and Google Video, as well as the distribution of the company’s products. Before Google, she worked at Intel, Bain & Co. and RB Webber & Co.

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