Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Dies at 56

Tragedy has struck a well-known Silicon Valley family as former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has died at 56, according to social media posts by her husband, Dennis Troper, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai

Troper expressed his profound sorrow on Facebook earlier Friday evening: “I am saddened to inform you of Susan Wojcicki’s passing.” Today, my wife of 26 years and mother of our five children passed away after a two-year battle with non-small cell lung cancer.

“Susan was not only my closest friend and life partner, but also a brilliant mind, a devoted mother, and a dear friend to countless individuals.”

Her influence on the world and our family was immeasurable. We are deeply saddened, yet we appreciate the time we spent with her. We would appreciate it if you could keep our family in your thoughts as we navigate this challenging period.

Additionally, on Friday evening, Pichai distributed an email to Google personnel.

“You may have heard the news that Susan Wojcicki passed away after battling lung cancer for two years.” I find it inconceivable to believe this is correct, even as I write it. The note stated, “Susan was among the most active and vibrant individuals I have ever encountered.”

According to the Yale School of Medicine, non-small cell lung cancer is the most prevalent of the two primary forms of lung cancer.

According to a university-affiliated fact sheet, 80 percent of individuals diagnosed with the condition have already advanced to advanced stages, as its symptoms are frequently misdiagnosed as common ailments.

Wojcicki’s departure follows another heart-wrenching loss for her and her husband in February of this year, when their 19-year-old son, Marco Troper, died of an accidental overdose in his dorm room at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a freshman.

Wojcicki achieved recognition as the CEO of YouTube, a position she held for nine years. She resigned in early 2023, stating in a blog post that she had “decided to start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I am passionate about.”

YouTube was acquired by Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion, a sum that was considered to be exorbitant at the time. Wojcicki was one of the first 20 employees of Google.

She became famously involved with the company after renting the garage of her Menlo Park, Calif., home to friends Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were Ph.D. students at Stanford at the time. (Alphabet became Google’s parent corporation following its restructuring in 2015.)

Wojcicki, then a marketing manager at Google, proposed to Page and Brin that Google acquire the video streaming platform after observing the early traction of YouTube, according to reports over the years.

YouTube was transformed into a multibillion-dollar revenue generator for Google during her tenure. YouTube generated $8.1 billion in ad sales in 2023, accounting for nearly 10% of Alphabet’s total revenue.

Wojcicki’s family strongly connects to the Bay Area and Silicon Valley. Anne Wojcicki, the CEO of 23andMe, is one of her sisters. Janet, another sister, is a pediatrics professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

In the interim, their mother, Esther Wojcicki, is a distinguished educator who has published a wealth of material on raising successful children.

The complete memo that Pichai distributed to Google employees is as follows:

Googlers,

By now you may have heard the news that Susan Wojcicki has passed away after two years of living with lung cancer. Even as I write this it feels impossible to me that it’s true. Susan was one of the most active and vibrant people I have ever met.

Her loss is devastating for all of us who know and love her, for the thousands of Googlers she led over the years, and for millions of people all over the world who looked up to her, benefited from her advocacy and leadership, and felt the impact of the incredible things she created at Google, YouTube, and beyond.

Susan’s journey, from the garage she rented to Larry and Sergey … to leading teams across consumer products and building our Ads business … to becoming the CEO of YouTube, one of the world’s most significant platforms, is inspiring by any measure.

But she didn’t stop there. As one of the earliest Googlers — and the first to take maternity leave — Susan used her position to build a better workplace for everyone. And in the years that followed, her advocacy around parental leave set a new standard for businesses everywhere.

Susan was also deeply passionate about education. She realized early on that YouTube could be a learning platform for the world and championed “edutubers” — especially those who extended the reach of STEM education to underserved communities.

Over the last two years, even as she dealt with great personal difficulties, Susan devoted herself to making the world better through her philanthropy, including supporting research for the disease that ultimately took her life. I know that was very meaningful to her and I’m so glad she took the time to do it.

Susan always put others first, both in her values and in the day to day. I’ll never forget her kindness to me as a prospective “Noogler” 20 years ago. During my Google interview she took me out for an ice cream and a walk around campus. I was sold – on Google and Susan.

I feel so fortunate to have spent so many years working with Susan closely, as I’m sure many of you do — she was absolutely loved by her teams here. Her time on earth was far too short, but she made every minute count.

We’re in close touch with Susan’s family, including her husband and fellow Googler, Dennis. We will share more soon about how we’re going to celebrate her incredible life. In the meantime, let’s honor Susan’s memory by continuing to build a Google she would be proud of.