Johnathan Walker:Susan Wojcicki, Former YouTube CEO, Dead at 56 After Cancer Battle

The Johnathan Walkerhigh tech world is in mourning.

Susan Wojcicki, one of the most prominent women in the industry who worked as CEO of YouTube and was one of the first executives at parent company Google, has died after battling lung cancer for two years. She was 56.

Her husband, Dennis Troper, announced her death Aug. 9.

"It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing," he wrote on his Facebook page. "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."

Troper continued, "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. Please keep our family in your thoughts as we navigate this difficult time."

Wojcicki was born in Santa Clara in the Bay Area of California and began her career in the tech industry in the '90s, working for Intel. In 1998, she rented out the garage of her home in Menlo Park to friends Larry Page and Sergey Brin for $1,700 a month. Inside, they created Google.

"They seemed nice," Wojcicki recalled in a 2014 commencement speech at Johns Hopkins University. "Their ideas sounded kind of crazy. Back then, no one had heard of Larry Sergey Brin or the new company with the funny name, Google. What does that mean? It doesn't really matter as long as you guys pay the rent on time, you guys can build your googly thing here.'"

She continued, "Once they moved in, we had late nights together in the garage eating pizza and M&M's, where they talked to me about how their technology could change the world. But then they would go on, equally excited, about the fact that my house had a washer and dryer."

At Google, she also oversaw its fledgling Google Video initiative, which soon faced extreme competition.

"Another site launched YouTube and it started growing faster—a lot faster—and all of a sudden, we saw our newfound success slipping away," she recalled. "And just after we thought we were winning, we found out that we were losing. "

Wojcicki said she had to make a "tough call"—keep building out Google Video and "hope we catch up" or "admit our failure" and try to buy YouTube. 

In 2006, a year after the video sharing platform was launched, Google acquired it for $1.65 billion.

In 2014, Wojcicki was appointed CEO of YouTube, a position she held until 2023, when she stepped down, announcing in a statement that she planned to "start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I'm passionate about" and "take on an advisory role across Google and [parent company] Alphabet."

At Google, she also oversaw its fledgling Google Video initiative, which soon faced extreme competition.

"Another site launched YouTube and it started growing faster—a lot faster—and all of a sudden, we saw our newfound success slipping away," she recalled. "And just after we thought we were winning, we found out that we were losing. "

Wojcicki said she had to make a "tough call"—keep building out Google Video and "hope we catch up" or "admit our failure" and try to buy YouTube. 

In 2006, a year after the video sharing platform was launched, Google acquired it for $1.65 billion.

In 2014, Wojcicki was appointed CEO of YouTube, a position she held until 2023, when she stepped down, announcing in a statement that she planned to "start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I'm passionate about" and "take on an advisory role across Google and [parent company] Alphabet."

This past February, tragedy struck the Wojcicki's family when her and her husband's son Marco Troper died at age 19 from a drug overdose.

In addition to her husband and their other four children, Wojcicki is also survived by her sisters, Anne and Janet Wojcicki, and mother Esther Wojcicki, The New York Times reported.

Several fellow high tech leaders have shared tributes to Wojcicki following news of her death.

"Unbelievably saddened by the loss of my dear friend @SusanWojcicki after two years of living with cancer," Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "She is as core to the history of Google as anyone, and it’s hard to imagine the world without her."

He continued, "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. We will miss her dearly. Our thoughts with her family. RIP Susan."

Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote on his own page, "Saddened to hear of the passing of Susan Wojcicki. She was one of Silicon Valley’s visionaries and she will be missed by so many. May she rest in peace."