Google’s 16th employee and former CEO of YouTube, Susan Wojcicki, dies aged 56

Susan Wojcicki, one of the first employees at Google and best known as the chief executive officer (CEO) of YouTube, has died aged 56 after battling non-small-cell lung cancer.

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and Alphabet, announced Wojcicki’s passing on X.

Pichai said that he is “unbelievably saddened by the loss of (his) dear friend Susan Wojcicki.”

“She 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. We will miss her dearly. Our thoughts with her family. RIP Susan.”

Wojcicki became heavily involved in the creation of Google in 1998, it's reported that she even rented out her garage for the company’s founders to use as an office space.

She then became Google’s very first marketing manager the following year, then later, she led the company’s advertising business and original video service.

Wojcicki suggested that Google should acquire YouTube after seeing it gain popularity. The site was then purchased in 2006 for $1.65 billion. Wojcicki was made the CEO of YouTube in 2014 until she resigned in 2023, as she wanted to focus on her family, health, and personal project, the BBC said.

Wojcicki was one of Google's very first employees. The BBC states that she was persuaded to leave her prior technology-based job at Intel to pursue a career at Google. She was reportedly Google’s 16th employee.

Dennis Troper, Wojcicki’s husband and Google's product management director, released a statement regarding his wife’s passing.

It is "with profound sadness that I share the news that 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."