Former YouTube CEO, Susan Wojcicki, has passed away at the age of 56 after a battle with lung cancer.
According to AFP, her husband announced on Friday.
A tech industry trailblazer, Wojcicki was one of the most influential women in Silicon Valley, playing a crucial role in Google’s ascent from a startup in her garage to a global tech giant.
Wojcicki devoted nearly 20 years to Google, significantly shaping its evolution.
She later led YouTube, which Google acquired in 2006, serving as its CEO for nearly a decade before stepping down in 2023 to prioritize her family, health, and personal endeavors.
Her husband, Dennis Troper, shared on Facebook that she had been quietly fighting lung cancer for the past two years. Together, they raised five children.
He wrote, “My beloved wife of 26 years and mother to our five children left us today.
“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.”
Wojcicki’s journey with Google began when her friends Sergey Brin and Larry Page started working out of her Menlo Park, California, garage in 1998. A year later, she became Google’s 16th employee and its first marketing manager.
During her tenure at Google, Wojcicki was instrumental in launching image search and was pivotal in the acquisitions of YouTube and ad platform DoubleClick.
Reflecting on her legacy, Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, wrote on social media platform 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.”
Wojcicki became YouTube’s CEO in 2014, introducing innovative ad formats and steering the platform’s growth by launching a streaming television service as audiences increasingly turned to online content for entertainment.
She also guided YouTube through significant challenges, including concerns over child privacy, hate speech, and misinformation, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A strong advocate for paid parental leave, Wojcicki, who was four months pregnant when she joined Google, argued in a 2014 opinion piece that offering generous leave policies was beneficial for businesses.
