Susan Wojcicki, Former CEO of YouTube, Dies at 56 of Cancer

Mar. 15, 2025

Susan Wojcicki.Photo:Francois G. Durand/Getty

Francois G. Durand/Getty

Susan Wojcicki, the former CEO of YouTube, has died. She was 56.

Wojcicki died of lung cancer, after living with the disease for two years, on Friday, Aug. 9, her husband Dennis Troper announced onFacebook.

“It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing,” he wrote. “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,” the post concluded. Wojcicki’s husband poignantly shared several photos beside his message of her from over the years with him and some of their children.

Wojcicki died of lung cancer on Aug. 9.Susan Wojcicki/ Facebook

Susan Wojcicki/ Facebook

Wojcicki became CEO of YouTube in 2014. She was a prominent figure during the emergence and development of video-sharing in social media and held her position as CEO for nine years before stepping down in February 2023.

YouTube CEO, Neal Mohan,wroteof his predecessor at the company on X (formerly Twitter): “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.”

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Wojcicki was the CEO of YouTube for nine years before stepping down in 2023.Susan Wojcicki/ Facebook

Wojcicki’s career started as one of just 16 employees working at Google in 1999. She became the first marketing executive there and the one in charge when the company branched out to Google Video in 2005 and purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion the next year, perVariety.

While working at Google, Wojcicki also led the early development of Google’s image search and supervised product management of Google Book Search and AdSense according to the outlet.

Wojcicki pictured in December 2023.Mike Coppola/Getty

Mike Coppola/Getty

Wojcicki’s death comes six months after her 19-year-old sonMarco Troper, died of a drug overdose at UC Berkeley in February.

Marco, who was a freshman at the university, was found unresponsive at his dormitory, Clark Kerr Campus, a spokesperson for the school confirmed to PEOPLE at the time.

source: people.com