Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Passes Away at 56 After Battle with Cancer
Silicon Valley mourns the loss of one of its pioneering figures, Susan Wojcicki, who passed away at 56 after a two-year battle with cancer.
Susan Wojcicki, the former CEO of YouTube and a trailblazer in the tech industry, passed away on August 9, 2024, at the age of 56.
Her death was announced by her husband, Dennis Troper, in an emotional Facebook post where he revealed that she had been battling non-small cell lung cancer for two years.
“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 two 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.”
Susan Wojcicki joined Google in 1999 as its 16th employee and quickly became a key figure in the company’s development. Her garage famously served as the first office for Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, a connection that marked the beginning of her long and influential career at the tech giant.
Her contributions to Google were numerous and transformative. She was instrumental in Google’s acquisition of YouTube in 2006, a deal that she proposed while serving as Google’s first marketing executive.
The $1.65 billion acquisition turned YouTube into a cornerstone of Google’s business, and under Wojcicki’s leadership as CEO from 2014 to 2023, the platform grew into a global powerhouse with over 2.5 billion monthly users.
Her tenure at YouTube was characterized by significant innovations and challenges. She led the platform through a period of massive growth, overseeing the launch of new services like YouTube Premium and YouTube TV, and expanding opportunities for content creators to monetize their work.
Despite the rapid changes in the digital landscape, Wojcicki remained committed to maintaining YouTube as a space for free expression and creativity.
The news of her passing has sent shockwaves through the tech community. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, took to social media to express his grief.
“Unbelievably saddened by the loss of my dear friend Susan Wojcicki after two years of living with cancer,” Pichai wrote on X.
“She is as core to the history of Google as anyone, and it’s hard to imagine the world without her. 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.”
Neal Mohan, who succeeded Wojcicki as YouTube CEO, also shared his reflections on her passing.
“I had the good fortune of meeting Susan 17 years ago when she was the architect of the DoubleClick acquisition,” Mohan wrote on X. “Her legacy lives on in everything she touched at Google and YouTube. I am forever grateful for her friendship and guidance. I will miss her tremendously. My heart goes out to her family and loved ones.”
Her death comes at a particularly difficult time for her family, following the tragic loss of her 19-year-old son, Marco Troper, earlier this year. Marco, a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley, passed away in February from an accidental overdose.
Wojcicki had stepped down from her role at YouTube in early 2023 to focus on her family and personal health, a decision that underscored her deep commitment to those closest to her.
She was a role model for women in technology, breaking through barriers in an industry where female leadership remains rare. Her work not only shaped the future of digital media but also paved the way for more inclusive leadership in tech.