Susan Wojcicki, former CEO of YouTube and one of Google’s first employees, died Friday at age 56 after a two-year battle with cancer.
The trailblazing female tech executive’s death was announced by her husband Dennis Troper, who paid tribute to her “genius mind” in a heartfelt Facebook post.
According to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, Wojcicki has been living with cancer for two years. According to him, it is “hard to imagine a world without her.”
Wojcicki’s death comes just months after her son Marco Troper died of a drug overdose.
Mother Susan was Google’s first marketing manager in 1999, before being named CEO of YouTube in 2014
Wojcicki became a well-known figure in Silicon Valley, especially during her nine years at the helm of YouTube.
Earlier in her career, Wojcicki was praised for leading Google executives to buy YouTube.
In 2014, she was announced as CEO and the following year she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME Magazine.
She stepped down from the company in early 2023, saying she had “decided to start a new chapter focused on my family, health and personal projects that I am passionate about.”
Wojcicki and her husband Dennis Troper had five children together
In his post sharing the news of his wife’s death, Troper said that Wojcicki “was not only 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 saddened, but grateful for the time we had with her. Please keep our family in your thoughts at this time.”
Wojcicki was also known as one of the first 20 employees of Google, which acquired YouTube in 2006 for $1.6 billion.
Pichai wrote in his message about her passing that Wojcicki “played a key role in Google’s history for everyone.”
“She was an incredible person, leader, and friend who had an enormous impact on the world. I am one of countless Googlers better off for having known her,” he wrote.
Wojcicki’s death comes just months after her son Marco Troper died of a drug overdose
“We will miss her terribly. Our thoughts are with her family. RIP Susan.”
Wojcicki and her husband Dennis Troper had five children together, but earlier this year their family was struck by tragedy when their son Marco was found dead.
Marco died at the age of 19 in a dormitory at the University of California, Berkeley, of a suspected drug overdose.
His grandmother, Esther Wojcicki, confirmed his passing in a Facebook post shared in February.
“Yesterday my family was struck by tragedy. My beloved grandson Marco Troper, 19 years old, passed away yesterday. Our family is devastated beyond belief,” wrote Esther Wojcicki.
The autopsy report revealed high levels of cocaine, amphetamine and Xanax in his system at the time of death.
The report also states that Marco suffered from “chronic substance abuse” and broke his right wrist two weeks before his death.
