Susan Wojcicki, the former CEO of YouTube and one of the first employees at Google after its formation, has died aged 56 after living with non-small cell lung cancer for two years.
In a statement on his personal Facebook account, her husband, Dennis Troper, confirmed the news of her death on Friday, August 9.
“It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing. 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.
“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.”
As one of the most prominent women in Silicon Valley, and tech more generally, Wojcicki became involved with search engine giant Google during its earliest days. After becoming the company’s sixteenth employee, she went on to work for the company for almost 25 years.
The CEO of Google and Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, shared a post on Twitter/X after her death was announced, “Unbelievably saddened by the loss of my dear friend Susan Wojcicki after two years of living with cancer. She is as core to the history of Google as anyone, and it’s hard to imagine the world without her.
“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.”
Wojcicki went on to become the CEO of YouTube in 2014 and oversaw a period of significant growth for the company before stepping down in 2023 to “start a new chapter focused on my family, health and personal projects I’m passionate about.”