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Susan Wojcicki, a technology pioneer and Palo Alto native who played a critical role in the creation of Google before becoming the CEO of YouTube has died, her husband, Dennis Troper, said Friday night, Aug. 9.
She was 56.
The daughter of Palo Alto High School journalism teacher Esther Wojcicki and Stanford University physics professor Stanley Wojcicki, she grew up on the Stanford University campus and attended Gunn High School.
She joined Google in the company’s earliest days, famously renting out her Menlo Park garage to company co-founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin in 1998 and then joining the company as its first marketing manager the following year.
Wojcicki was also heavily involved in the company’s purchase of YouTube in 2006. When she became the company’s CEO in 2014, Page praised her for her “healthy disregard for the impossible.” She held the position until 2023.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, wrote in a statement that Wojcicki 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,” Pinchai wrote on X. “We will miss her dearly. Our thoughts with her family. RIP Susan.”
Troper shared the news of Wojcicki’s passing on social media on Friday night. He said that she had been living with cancer for two years.
“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,” Troper wrote. “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.”
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