Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO, dead at 56

Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, one of the most prominent women in tech, has died at the age of 56 after a two-year fight with cancer, according to a statement from her husband.

“It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing,” Denis Troper wrote in a post shared to Facebook. “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. 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,” he continued. “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.”

Wojcicki was the 16th employee of Google, joining the company in 1999, and served as YouTube’s CEO for nine years, from 2014 to 2023. She stepped down in 2023, citing “personal” and “family reasons.” She was succeeded by current YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. 

“Today we @YouTube lost a teammate, mentor, and friend, Susan Wojcicki,” Mohan wrote Saturday on social media platform X. “I had the good fortune of meeting Susan 17 years ago when she was the architect of the DoubleClick acquisition. Her legacy lives on in everything she touched @google and @youtube.” 

Prior to her stint as YouTube’s CEO, she served as Google’s senior vice president for ad sales. 

“Twenty-five years ago I made the decision to join a couple of Stanford graduate students who were building a new search engine,” Wojcicki wrote in a blog post on the day she left YouTube.  “Their names were Larry and Sergey …. It would be one of the best decisions of my life.”

She first started collaborating with Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin shortly after they turned the search engine into a business. 

Wojcicki rented the garage of her Menlo Park, Calif., home to the pair for $1700 a month before they moved into a formal office. During their stay, she worked with them to help refine their search engine, according to a statement from Google.

“She is as core to the history of Google as anyone, and it’s hard to imagine the world without her,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote on X, following the news of her death. “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. 

Pichai said her journey was “inspiring by any measure,” in a statement to the Hill.

“As one of the earliest Googlers — and the first to take maternity leave — Susan used her position to build a better workplace for everyone,” he added. “And in the years that followed, her advocacy around parental leave set a new standard for businesses everywhere.”

Wojcicki was one of the first women to rise to the top of the male-dominated tech industry and was an inspiration to those who followed her. 

Former Facebook COO Sheryl hailed Wojcicki as a confidante and mentor.

“When I joined Google, Susan was one of the very first people I met. She taught me the business and helped me navigate a growing, fairly chaotic organization at the beginning of my career in tech,” she wrote in a post online. “She was the person I turned to for advice over and over again. And she was this person for so many others too.”

Sandberg worked at Google under Wojcicki before moving to Facebook. 

“As one of the most important women leaders in tech — the first to lead a major company — she was committed to expanding opportunities for women throughout Silicon Valley,” she added. “I don’t believe my career would be what is today without her unwavering support.”