Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Passes Away at 56

Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Passes Away at 56

Susan Wojcicki, the former CEO of YouTube and a pivotal figure in Google’s early history, has died at the age of 56 after a two-year battle with lung cancer.

The news was announced by Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet, who expressed deep sadness over her passing. Pichai described Wojcicki as “as core to the history of Google as anyone.”

Wojcicki was one of Google’s first employees, joining the company as its 16th employee after initially renting out her Menlo Park garage to Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page in 1998. Before joining Google, she worked at Intel and played a crucial role in the early development of the tech giant.

Wojcicki led YouTube for nine years until 2023, when she stepped down to focus on her family, health, and personal projects. Throughout her career, she was a prominent advocate for increasing the representation of women in the tech industry. In a 2013 interview with BBC’s Newshour, she highlighted the underrepresentation of women in the field and emphasized the importance of encouraging more girls to pursue careers in technology.

Despite her accomplishments, Wojcicki’s tenure at YouTube was not without controversy. The platform faced significant criticism over its handling of online disinformation, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, several fact-checking organizations accused YouTube of being a major source of misinformation globally.

Wojcicki is survived by her husband, Dennis Troper, and their five children. In a statement, Troper expressed his profound sadness, noting that his wife had fought bravely against non-small-cell lung cancer for two years.

Her passing marks the loss of a trailblazer in the tech industry, whose influence shaped both Google and YouTube into the global powerhouses they are today.