Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Passes Away After Battle With Cancer

Former CEO of YouTube Susan Wojcicki has passed away at the age of 56 after a two-year battle with non-small cell lung cancer.

The news of her death was confirmed by her former husband, Dennis Troper, who shared the heartbreaking announcement on Facebook. In his post, Troper described Wojcicki as not only his beloved wife of 26 years and the mother of their five children but also a brilliant mind and a dear friend to many. 

Wojcicki had served as the CEO of YouTube for nine years before stepping down in February 2023 to focus on her family, health and personal projects. Her tenure at YouTube marked an important period of growth for the platform. 

Prior to her role at YouTube, Wojcicki was instrumental in Google’s early success, having rented out her garage to co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, which helped launch the company in 1998. She joined Google as its 16th employee a year later and was with the company for 25 years.

Wojcicki’s contributions were important during Google’s acquisition of YouTube in 2006 for USD 1.65 billion. She had famously recommended the purchase of the platform after observing its early success. Her legacy is also marked by her family's recent loss; her son, Marco Troper, passed away earlier this year at the age of 19. Wojcicki's sister, Anne Wojcicki, co-founded 23andMe and was previously married to Brin.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai also paid tribute to Wojcicki, expressing his profound sadness over her passing. 

Unbelievably saddened by the loss of my dear friend @SusanWojcicki after two years of living with cancer. 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…

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) August 10, 2024