Susan Wojcicki, the former CEO of YouTube, has died. She was 56 years old. Susan fought lung cancer for two years. She died on Friday, August 9. Her husband, Dennis Troper, shared the news on Facebook.
Dennis wrote,
“With great sadness, I share Susan Wojcicki’s 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. 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.”
He asked people to keep their family in thoughts. He shared many photos of Susan with their family.
Susan became the CEO of YouTube in 2014. She helped YouTube grow during the rise of social media. She was CEO for nine years. She stepped down in February 2023.
Neal Mohan, the current YouTube CEO, shared his thoughts on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote, “Today we @youtube lost a teammate, mentor, and friend, @SusanWojcicki. I met Susan 17 years ago when she was the architect of the DoubleClick acquisition. Her legacy lives on in everything she touched @google and @youtube. I am forever grateful for her friendship and guidance. I will miss her tremendously.” He also shared condolences to her family.
Susan Wojcicki Death: A Giant in Google’s History
Susan started her career at Google in 1999. She was one of just 16 employees. She became the first marketing executive. She led Google Video in 2005. She helped buy YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006.
She also led Google’s image search and product management of Google Book Search and AdSense.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, wrote on X, “Unbelievably saddened by the loss of my dear friend @SusanWojcicki… 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.”
Susan’s death comes six months after her son Marco Troper died. Marco was 19 years old. He died of a drug overdose in February at UC Berkeley. The school confirmed Marco’s death. The coroner said he died from “acute combined drug toxicity.” He had high amounts of alprazolam, cocaine, amphetamine, and hydroxyzine in his body.
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