Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO, passes away after cancer battle; Sundar Pichai leads tributes

Susan Wojcicki, former CEO of YouTube and an influential figure in the technology industry, died after a two-year battle with non-small cell lung cancer. Here's what Sundar Pichai posted.

By Sakina Kaukawala

Published on Aug 11, 2024 | 05:03 PM IST | 31.6K

Susan Wojcicki and Sundar Pichai (via Instagram/ Susan Wojcicki and Sundar Pichai)

Trigger Warning: This article contains references to an individual's death.

Susan Wojcicki, the former CEO of YouTube, has died after a lengthy battle with cancer. Dennis Troper, her husband, announced her death in a heartfelt post on Facebook. Wojcicki, who led YouTube from 2014 to early 2023, had been battling non-small cell lung cancer for the previous two years.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, was deeply saddened by Wojcicki's passing. In a tribute posted on X (formerly Twitter), Pichai said, "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."

Following Pichai's tribute, many others used social media to express their condolences and share memories of Wojcicki. Many posts on X contained simple messages of respect, such as "RIP" and "How tragic."

Susan Wojcicki's impact on the tech industry was significant. She joined Google as the company's 16th employee in 1999 and played an important role in its expansion. In 2006, she advocated for Google to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion, a decision that proved to be extremely successful. Under her leadership, YouTube's monthly viewership grew to 2.5 billion.

Wojcicki's connection to Google began even earlier. Sergey Brin and Larry Page rented a garage from her in 1998 to work on the search engine Google. This initial support was critical to Google's early success. Her contributions went beyond YouTube, as she also worked as an advisor for Google and its parent company, Alphabet.

Dennis Troper's Facebook post offered a personal perspective on Wojcicki's life and legacy. He wrote that Susan was not only his best friend and life partner, but she was also a brilliant thinker, a loving mother, and a dear friend to many. Her contribution to the family and the world was immeasurable. He said all are heartbroken, but grateful for the time they spent with her.

ALSO READ: Brazil plane crash: 61 passengers killed in terrifying aircraft incident caught on viral video