YouTube’s former CEO Susan Wojcicki has passed away.

The Death of YouTube’s Former CEO Susan Wojcicki

Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently announced in a post that YouTube’s former CEO Susan Wojcicki has passed away. Wojcicki was an important figure in the tech world, being one of Google’s first employees and playing a critical role in the company’s history. As one of the first 20 employees at Google, she significantly contributed to laying the foundations of the company by renting her garage in Menlo Park, California, to her friends Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were at Stanford doing their PhDs at the time.

Wojcicki took over as CEO of YouTube in 2014, drawing attention with her successful performance in this role. In February 2023, she decided to step down from her position at YouTube to focus on her family, health, and personal projects. However, she continued to serve as a consultant for Google and its parent company Alphabet, while also seeking other career opportunities. This summer, she had made an exciting announcement that she would be joining the board of the satellite company Planet Labs.

Dennis Troper, Wojcicki’s husband of 26 years, stated that she was the mother of their five children and had been battling non-small cell lung cancer for the past two years. Troper said, “Her impact on our family and the world was immeasurable. We are very sad, but we are grateful for the time we had with her. Please keep our family in your prayers during this difficult time.” The family’s tragedies did not stop there; according to TechCrunch, their 19-year-old son had died from an accidental overdose in his dorm room this February.

Sundar Pichai emphasized Wojcicki’s influence on Google and her role in the company’s success, stating, “She is at the center of Google’s history, and it’s hard to imagine a world without her.” Wojcicki’s death is considered a significant loss in the tech world.