Susan Wojcicki, a former YouTube Chief Executive Officer, CEO has died.
Wojcicki reportedly died at the age of 56 after battling with lung cancer for two years.
The former YouTube CEO who previously worked with the video-sharing App’s parent company, Google in it’s earliest days and eventually became one of the most prominent women in Silicon Valley was the search engine company’s 16th employee in history.
She worked with Google for a period of 25 years where she played a role in creating image searches and worked on the acquisitions of YouTube and ad platform DoubleClick.
She thereafter took up the leadership of YouTube where she served as CEO for nine years.
She reportedly resigned her position last year when she disclosed in a blogpost that she was taking out time to focus on her family, health and personal projects that she was passionate about.
According to her bereaved husband, Dennis Troper, who announced the sad event via a Facebook post early Saturday, Wojcicki, who is the mother of their five children had been married to him for 26 years before her passing.
He described her as being more than just a wife and friend to him althrough their years of conjugal bliss.
He said, “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.”
She was “not just my best friend and partner in life, but a brilliant mind, a loving mother, and a dear friend to many, he added noting that, “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,” Troper said.
Via a post on X early Saturday, Google’s current CEO, Sundar Pichai expressed condolences to the deceased’s family and loved ones while saying Wojcicki was “core” to Google’s history.
According to Pichai, “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.”
Wojcicki’s impact on YouTube and it’s parent company Google may not be forgotten in a hurry. By indications, she has played a pivotal role in the founding and shaping of the company from its earliest days of inception and witnessed it navigate through various phases until in 2023 when she resigned her role as YouTube’s CEO.
