Susan Wojcicki, the former CEO of YouTube, is dead at 56 after an incurable struggle with non-small cell lung cancer. This was made known in the early morning by her husband, Dennis Troper, who described himself as “in shock and devastated” over the great loss while remembering special moments they spent together on social media.
Former YouTube CEO, Susan Wojcicki has died of cancer at the age of 56 pic.twitter.com/dNUpVH5fYb
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) August 10, 2024
Dennis Troper shared on Facebook: “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 two years of living with non-small cell lung cancer.”
He continued, “Susan was my best friend and partner in life, but she was also an intellect, a loving mother, and dear friend to so many. She will be greatly missed, for her impact on our family and the world cannot be measured. We are most saddened but remain grateful for precious times with her.”.
Accompanying the note, her husband Troper posted several photos showing bits and pieces of Susan’s life with him and their children—warm, full-of-love pieces that defined family.
Susan Wojcicki was the kind of leader who would leave her mark on the tech world for generations on end. As CEO at YouTube from 2014-2023, she took the company to new heights by creating a global powerhouse that connected billions through video. Under her leadership were embedded innovation and serious commitment to building diversity and inclusivity among creators and users.
Neal Mohan, the present CEO of YouTube, shared an update on X praising Wojcicki:
“Today we @youtube lost a teammate, mentor, and friend, @SusanWojcicki. I had the good fortune of meeting Susan 17 years ago when she was the architect of the DoubleClick acquisition. Her legacy lives on in everything she touched @google and @youtube.”.
Susan Wojcicki’s death comes six months after the 19-year-old son, Marco Troper, died of a drug overdose. This occurred when he was studying at UC Berkeley; she took a hit from that tragic loss of her boy but remained very strong in spirits to the family.
Marco was a freshman at the university when he became nonresponsive in his dorm room. The Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau would later confirm that he died of “acute combined drug toxicity,” caused by dangerous concentrations of alprazolam, cocaine, amphetamine, and hydroxyzine in his body.
After that tragedy, Susan Wojcicki remained devoted to her family and cherished the memorable moments she spent with her husband and four other surviving children.
Born on July 5, 1968, in Santa Clara, California, Susan was born for great things from her very inception. Her father, Stanley Wojcicki, was a noted physics professor at Stanford University, while her mother was also a journalist, instructor, and Esther Wojcicki. Susan grew up in an intellectually stimulating environment that set the stage for all her future successes.
Susan attended Harvard University and studied history there. She also spent a little time in India working as a photojournalist, which really opened her eyes wide toward the different cultures of the world. When she came back to her homeland, she undertook further higher education from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she completed her graduation in Economics, after which she did an MBA from UCLA.
Susan’s illustrious career began in her garage in Menlo Park, California, where she gave space to founders of Google Sergey Brin and Larry Page. That garage became their very first offices—the first steps of a phenomenal journey starting with Susan as the 16th employee whose initial focus was on marketing efforts. Her ingenious ideas resulted in AdSense, a product that would revamp Google’s strategy in monetization.
She was the first head of marketing the company ever had and proves to be really crucial in the early growth and expansions. Wojcicki played a major role in Google’s acquisition of YouTube for 1.65 billion in 2006, thereby changing the face of digital media forever.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, wrote this about Wojcicki: “Unbelievably saddened by the loss of my dear friend @SusanWojcicki… She is as core to the history of Google as anyone, and it’s hard to imagine the world without her. Unbelievable person, leader, and friend with a profound impact on the world—all of which made me a better Googler.
In 2014, Susan took over as the boss of YouTube, following Google’s acquisition of it for $1.65 billion, with a clear vision of connecting people across the world using video. On her leadership, YouTube was growing explosively, crossing more than 2 billion active monthly users. She believes in supporting creators and the extension necessary for the YouTube Partner Program to more creators so that they get content paid.
During her tenure as CEO, Wojcicki was in the midst of several controversies regarding YouTube’s content moderation policies. One of the most memorable ones was with Logan Paul, a popular YouTuber who faced backlash after publishing a highly controversial video. Wojcicki responded to Oppenheim that pieces of photos were mechanically completed, contending that YouTube still used human inspection. She further explained herself as walking on this rather thin lane between moderation and freedom of speech.
Susan Wojcicki’s impact was much more than her corporate success. She can be found time and again on the list of 100 most influential people in TIME Magazine and appears in Forbes’ list of the most powerful women. Her influence resounded into the tech world, inspiring many to chase one’s dreams and leave a mark on this world.
In another instance, she faced blowback for not pulling the plug on conservative commentator Steven Crowder’s content, which was laced with racist and homophobic slurs. Although the decision to allow Crowder to stay on the platform had angered many, Wojcicki felt she wished she had done more sooner to curb Crowder’s ability to monetize his videos.
Despite this all, Wojcicki felt committed to the open platform policy of YouTube; she believed that a range of points of view should be shown. Working doggedly on the betterment of the platform’s policies on hate speech, misinformation, and child safety issues—fix all these urgently, she would repeat that it “requires a long term commitment.”
Susan Wojcicki’s success was established upon a firm background of education. After all, a Bachelor’s Degree from Harvard University and an MBA from UCLA provide the analytical and strategic acumen needed to finesse her way through the tech industry. Her education laid the foundation for creative thinking and decision-making that would affect millions.
In the reflection of Susan Wojcicki’s remarkable journey, one cannot but be strongly reminded of her deep impacts on steering the tech industry and the building up of YouTube as a worldwide phenomenon. Her leadership vision, coupled with zeal only to facilitate creativity and diversity, has finally left an indelible mark on digital media and online cultures. A CEO, an inspiration, a mentor, and a friend over millions, Susan Wojcicki to many who knew her was. Her passion for innovation and creator advocacy inspired and touched the lives of millions—to build a platform where voices from all corners of the Earth could freely express themselves.
