New Delhi: Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has passed away at the age of 56 after a two-year battle with cancer. Wojcicki, who was instrumental in Google’s early days by renting out her parent’s garage to co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998, was also the company’s 16th hire.
The news of Wojcicki’s death was shared by her husband, Dennis Troper, in a Facebook post. He wrote, “My beloved wife of 26 years and mother to our five children left us today after battling non-small cell lung cancer for two years. Susan was not just 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.”
Unbelievably saddened by the loss of my dear friend @SusanWojcicki 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…
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) August 10, 2024
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai also paid tribute to Wojcicki in a post on X (formerly Twitter), expressing his deep sorrow at her passing. He said, “I am unbelievably saddened by the loss of my dear friend @SusanWojcicki after her two-year battle with cancer. She was fundamental to the history of Google and has left an indelible mark on the world. She was an incredible person, leader, and friend, and I am one of many Googlers who is better for having known her. We will miss her dearly. Our thoughts are with her family. RIP Susan.”
Wojcicki had stepped down from her role as YouTube CEO in February 2023 after leading the platform for nine years. At that time, she announced her intention to focus on “family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about.”
Neal Mohan, who was then the chief product officer of YouTube, succeeded her as the head of the platform. In a post on Meta’s Threads, Mohan expressed his gratitude and sorrow, stating, “I had the good fortune of meeting Susan 17 years ago when she was the architect of the DoubleClick acquisition. Her legacy lives on in everything she touched at Google and YouTube. I am forever grateful for her friendship, guidance, and the impact she had on my life. I will miss her tremendously. My heart goes out to her family and loved ones.”
Wojcicki played a pivotal role in Google’s formative years, having rented her parent’s garage to Page and Brin in 1998, and later joining the company as its 16th employee and first marketing executive in 1999. Over her 25-year tenure, she managed the development of key advertising and measurement platforms like AdWords, AdSense, DoubleClick, and Google Analytics. She also led the initial development of various consumer products, including Google Images, Google Books, and Google Video. Wojcicki became YouTube’s CEO in 2014.
She was the daughter of Esther Wojcicki, a journalist and educator, and Stanley Wojcicki, a Polish physics professor at Stanford University. Her sister Anne Wojcicki co-founded the personal genomics company 23andMe and was previously married to Sergey Brin, while her other sister, Janet Wojcicki, is an anthropologist and epidemiologist.
Susan Wojcicki married Dennis Troper, a Google executive, in 1998, and they had five children together. The family had already experienced tragedy with the loss of their oldest son, 19-year-old Marco Troper, who died of a reported drug overdose while attending the University of California, Berkeley.
