Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has died

Googlers,

By now you may have heard the news that Susan Wojcicki passed away after two years of living with lung cancer. Even as I write this, it seems impossible to me that this is true. Susan was one of the most active and vibrant people I have ever met. Her loss is devastating to all of us who knew and loved her, to the thousands of Googlers she led over the years, and to millions of people around the world who admired her, benefited from her advocacy and leadership, and felt the impact of amazing things she created on Google, YouTube and more.

Susan’s journey, from the garage she rented to Larry and Sergey… to leading consumer products teams and building our advertising business… to becoming CEO of YouTube, one of the most important platforms in the world, is inspiring in any measure. But she didn’t stop there. As one of the first Googlers (and the first to take maternity leave), Susan used her position to build a better workplace for everyone. And in the years that followed, her advocacy for parental leave set a new standard for companies around the world. Susan was also deeply passionate about education. She realized early on that YouTube could be a learning platform for the world and championed “edutubers” – especially those who extended the reach of STEM education to underserved communities.

Over the past two years, despite facing great personal difficulties, Susan has dedicated herself to making the world better through her philanthropy, including supporting research into the disease that ultimately took her life. I know this meant a lot to her and I’m so glad she took the time to do this.

Susan has always put others first, both in her values ​​and in her everyday life. I will never forget her kindness to me as a potential “Noogler” 20 years ago. During my interview at Google, she took me out for ice cream and a walk around campus. I was sold – on Google and Susan.

I feel very fortunate to have spent so many years working closely with Susan, as I’m sure many of you do – she was absolutely loved by her teams here. Her time on Earth was very short, but she made every minute worth it.

We stay in close contact with Susan’s family, including her husband and fellow Googler, Dennis. We’ll share more soon about how we celebrate her incredible life. In the meantime, let’s honor Susan’s memory by continuing to build a Google she would be proud of.

-Sundar