Susan Wojcicki, an early Google executive and long-time head of its YouTube video service who shaped how fortunes and fame are created on the internet, has died. She was 56. Wojcicki died after a two-year battle with cancer, according to social media posts by her husband, Dennis Troper, and Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of YouTube parent Alphabet Inc.
She announced plans in February 2023 to leave YouTube to focus on “my family, health and personal projects I’m passionate about.” Neither she nor the company elaborated on her health at the time. Wojcicki was among Google’s longest-serving employees and one of the highest-profile female executives in Silicon Valley.
Few people had greater sway over the economics of the internet in the social media era. From 2014 to 2023, she ran YouTube as CEO, cementing the video service’s status as a daily destination for billions of people and a stage for countless performers to launch careers. Before that, Wojcicki spent years managing systems that let virtually any digital publisher cash in on advertisements — and placed Google firmly at the center of the profitable enterprise.
At YouTube, Wojcicki made for an unusual media titan. She was reserved in nature, and her infrequent public appearances showed little taste for Hollywood showmanship. Yet she pushed to promote independent creators — the thousands of broadcasters who split ad revenue with YouTube — and compete directly with television and streaming services.
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