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The former YouTube CEO was 56 years old

Posted on by darion

Susan Wojcicki, the CEO of YouTube who served as CEO for nine years, died on Friday at the age of 56, her family said.

Her husband Dennis Troper announced that she died after two years of suffering from a disease called non-small cell lung cancer.

He confirmed the sad news in a Facebook post, writing:

“It is with profound sadness that I share the news of the death of Susan Wojcicki. My beloved wife of 26 years and mother of our five children passed away today after 2 years of living with non-small cell lung cancer. Susan was not only my best friend and partner in life, but also 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.”

Google CEO Sundar Pichai posted the following tribute to X shortly after the news was announced:

“Incredibly saddened by the loss of my dear friend @SusanWojcicki after two years of living with cancer. She is as important to Google’s story as anyone, and it’s hard to imagine a world without her. She was an incredible person, leader, and friend who had a profound impact on the world, and I am one of countless people at Google who are better off for knowing her. She will be deeply missed. Our thoughts are with her family. Rest in peace, Susan.”

Wojcicki has worked in the technology industry for more than two decades. Her bio says she was one of the first 20 employees at Google, which acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006. That happened after she rented the garage in her Menlo Park home in 1998 to Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were then PhD students at Stanford University. She later ran the company’s online advertising and video business.

She was appointed CEO of YouTube in 2014 and served in that role until February 2023, at which time she explained that she wanted to focus on her health and personal projects that she was passionate about.