Susan Wojcicki, the former CEO of YouTube and a well-known personality in the tech community, passed unexpectedly at the age of 56. An emotional memorial from Wojcicki’s husband, Dennis Troper, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Friday night confirmed her passing.
Susan Wojcicki has had a significant impact on the tech sector. Being one of the only female CEOs in Silicon Valley, she oversaw YouTube for almost ten years, creating history. Her spouse Dennis Troper announced her passing on Facebook:
“I share the news of Susan Wojcicki’s passing with profound sadness. 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.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai also shared his grief, posting on social media that he was “unbelievably saddened” by the passing of a leader who had a significant influence on Google. In a note to employees, Pichai described Wojcicki as “one of the most active and vibrant people I have ever met. Her loss is devastating for all of us who know and love her, for the thousands of Googlers she led over the years, and for millions of people all over the world who looked up to her, benefited from her advocacy and leadership, and felt the impact of the incredible things she created at Google, YouTube, and beyond.”
Wojcicki’s career at Google began in 1999 as the company’s 16th employee, and she quickly became instrumental in shaping its future. Her journey started from humble beginnings—she famously rented out her Menlo Park garage to Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin for $1,700 a month, giving them the space to develop what would become a tech giant. Wojcicki left her role in Intel’s marketing department to join Google, where she led the development of its advertising and analytics products, including co-creating AdSense, one of Google’s most successful ventures.
Her leadership extended to championing Google’s $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube in 2006, which has since transformed the platform into the world’s largest video-sharing site with over 2.5 billion monthly active users. As YouTube’s CEO from 2014 until her resignation in February 2023, Wojcicki oversaw the platform’s exponential growth and its evolution into a global hub for content creators.
The respect and admiration Wojcicki earned from her peers is evident in the tributes shared after her passing. Neal Mohan, the current CEO of YouTube, remembered her as a key architect of significant acquisitions like DoubleClick, noting, “Her legacy lives on in everything she touched at Google and YouTube.”
Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta, reflected on Wojcicki’s influence in her career, saying, “She taught me the business and helped me navigate a growing, fairly chaotic organization at the beginning of my tech career. 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.”
Patrick Keane, an early Google sales director, and Kim Scott, a former Google director, emphasized Wojcicki’s unique ability to remain calm and effective under pressure. Keane remarked that “the founders trust Susan maybe more than anybody on the planet,” while Scott referred to her as “a Larry whisperer,” recognizing her skill in guiding Google co-founder Larry Page through challenging situations