The world of tech has been stunned after news broke that the former CEO of YouTube, Susan Wojcicki has died. Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai broke the news this morning on social media.
“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.”
As revealed initially by her husband, Dennis Troper, Susan, had been battling non-small cell lung cancer for the last 2 years. She died at the age of 56.
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.
Nearly 27 years ago, Larry Page and Sergey Brin incorporated a company called Google and their first office was in a garage in Menlo Park, rented out to them by Susan Wojcicki at her parents’ home.
Wojcicki joined Google in 1999 from Intel as its first marketing manager and was tasked with generating revenue from Google search. She got her first breakthrough with the debut of AdWords, the clickable text-only advertisements that appear on Google search pages.
She was key in the acquisition of several startups in the field of Internet advertising such as Applied Semantics to bolster growth of the AdSense platform. She was a critical asset in the growth of the DoubleClick system after purchase of DoubleClick and purchase of mobile advertising network AdMob in 2009. Susan was responsible for the initial viral marketing programs, as well as the first Google Doodles.
Wojcicki, who was elevated to senior vice president at Google in 2010, moved over to YouTube in 2014 and became its CEO.
In just one year, YouTube reached 2 billion logged-in users a month and they were watching one billion hours a day. Under her leadership, YouTube expanded localization to include over one hundred countries worldwide, across eighty languages.
In 2015, Susan was listed among the 100 most influential people by Time magazine for her YouTube efforts. By 2021, YouTube had paid its creators and media groups $30 billion. Wojcicki also played a crucial role in expanding YouTube’s global reach. She oversaw the launch of YouTube TV, introduced various tools and programs to help creators grow their channels and monetize their content, including the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) and initiatives like the YouTube Space.
Her tenure was not without controversy, with issues related to content moderation, misinformation, and the handling of harmful content. During her tenure, critics accused YouTube of being slow to respond to harmful content and failing to adequately protect users from harmful actors.
Unfortunately, Susan had to leave the role to focus on “family, health and personal projects.’ She remained in touch with Google in an advisory role to offer counsel to Google and other companies owned by Alphabet.
