Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO and longtime Google executive, dies at 56

SAN FRANCISCO -- Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, a tech pioneer who was one of Google's earliest employees, has died after living with lung cancer for two years, according to her husband. She was 56.

"It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing. 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," Dennis Troper wrote in a Facebook post.

Troper said Wojcicki 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," Troper said. "Please keep our family in your thoughts as we navigate this difficult time."

Wojcicki and Troper's 19-year-old son, Marco Troper, died in February at the UC Berkeley campus where he resided as a freshman student.

Wojcicki - who was one of the most prominent women in Silicon Valley - had been involved with YouTube's parent company Google from its earliest days, when its two founders worked out of her garage in California to build a search engine. She later became Google's 16th employee and had worked at the company for nearly 25 years.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai expressed condolences in a post on X early Saturday, saying Wojcicki was "core" to Google's history.

"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," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said on X.

On Instagram, longtime friend and former Facebook and Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg wrote:

"With deep sadness, I am honoring the life of my friend @susanwojcicki.

When I joined Google, Susan was one of the very first people I met. She taught me the business and helped me navigate a growing, fairly chaotic organization at the beginning of my career in tech. She was the person I turned to for advice over and over again. And she was this person for so many others too.

As one of the most important women leaders in tech - the first to lead a major company - she was committed to expanding opportunities for women throughout Silicon Valley. I don't believe my career would be what is today without her unwavering support.

I will remember Susan's brilliance, kindness, and visionary leadership. And I will be forever grateful for her guidance, and most importantly, her friendship. My heart goes out to her family and loved ones," Sandberg wrote.

Wojcicki had served as YouTube's CEO for nine years before announcing last year in a blog post that she would be "stepping back" from her leadership role to focus on her family, health and personal projects that she was passionate about, CNN previously reported.

Wojcicki oversaw YouTube during the web's pivotal transition toward social media, but also as online platforms came under increasing scrutiny for spreading misinformation, hate speech and other harmful content.

"I'm so proud of everything we've achieved," Wojcicki wrote when announcing she was stepping down in 2023. "It's been exhilarating, meaningful, and all-consuming," she said.

The Associated Press and KGO-TV staff contributed this report