Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, whose leadership took the video streaming platform to unprecedented heights, died at 56 after a prolonged battle with cancer.
Wojcicki’s husband, Dennis Troper, announced her death in a Facebook post on August 9. In his post, Troper wrote that Wojcicki had been suffering from lung cancer for two years, adding that she was his dear friend and a loving mother of five. One of her sons, 19, died in February this year after an accidental drug overdose.
Troper also asked people to pray for his family as he prepares to face difficult and sorrowful times ahead.
Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, paid tribute to Wojcicki, stating that she is one of the people behind making the world a better place and that she was an incredible leader who made a great impact in the tech world.
Wojcicki joined Google as the company’s 16th employee in 1999, when the search engine was still in its early stages. She was the first marketing executive of Google, leading the efforts to make Google mainstream on the Internet and playing an important role in developing Google’s image search.
She assumed the charge of YouTube CEO in 2013 when an overwhelming number of businesses were just starting to embrace video advertisements, leading to the popularity of video content and, hence, the explosion of YouTube.
She led the video streaming platform for almost nine years before resigning in February last year. While stepping down, she announced that she was looking forward to focusing on her health and family while pursuing her favorite projects. However, she remained YouTube’s adviser even after her resignation.
Incumbent YouTube CEO Neal Mohan also sent his condolences to Wojcicki’s family, stating that she turned all her ventures into success and that he is grateful that he met her 17 years ago, which completely turned his life around.
Some of Wojcicki’s notable achievements in Google include overseeing projects like Adsense, Google Video, and Google Book Search. Before joining Google, she worked in Intel and many other famous companies that ended up making great impact in the 21st century.
