Tech world mourns the death of Susan Wojcicki
Susan Wojcicki, a longtime Google executive who served as CEO of YouTube for nearly a decade, died Friday after a two-year battle with non-small cell lung cancer.
Wojcicki, 56, rented the garage of her Menlo Park home to Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were starting Google. She then became one of the company’s first 20 employees and took on the role of chief executive at YouTube in 2014, but stepped down last year.
After her husband Dennis Tropper and Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared the news on Friday night, Wojcicki’s co-workers, friends and peers began posting their memories and thoughts. We’ve collected some of their posts here; we’ll update as more are published.
Marc Benioff (co-founder and CEO of Salesforce):
Tim Cook (Apple CEO):
Neal Mohan (YouTube CEO):
Melinda French Gates (philanthropist):
John Green (Author and YouTuber):
I am deeply saddened to learn that Susan Wojcicki, former CEO of YouTube, has passed away. She was (very quietly) the largest donor to our project supporting maternal health in Sierra Leone. She never sought credit or attention for her donations – just privately supported our project and many others. An extraordinary leader and person.
Hank Green (Author and YouTuber):
Susan resigned from her role barely a year ago after leading YouTube for nearly ten extremely complex and stressful years. During that time I got to know her quite well and found her to be surprisingly thoughtful, but also surprisingly kind, considering how tough she was. It’s so sad…
Diane von Furstenberg (fashion designer):
Dear Susan Wojcicki, mother, sister, daughter, loyal friend…intelligent, thoughtful, funny…may you rest in peace…we will all miss you ❤️🙏❤️…witness to our century, Google started in her garage…YouTube flourished under her leadership…she fought for her life and finally went to meet her beloved son Marco! The world will not be the same without you…rest in peace ❤️❤️❤️
Kara Swisher (journalist):
She was a true legacy in Silicon Valley, a kind, warm and loving woman who led with integrity, as well as a wonderful parent to five children.
Marques Brownlee (YouTuber):
Emily Chang (Journalist):
Ron Conway (venture capitalist):
Alex Winter (director, “The YouTube Effect”):
RIP Susan Wojcicki. I interviewed her for our YouTube documentary, and I found her to be incredibly talented, gracious, kind, and willing to listen and consider the platform’s fiercest criticism.
Matt Ross (former YouTube executive and founder of Day2 Health):
Very sad news. Susan was an incredible leader, but she led with compassion. When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, she was so nice to me and took the time to check on me incredibly. She didn’t always like the creative tasks I presented. But she had an amazing ability to reject work without making you feel like a complete fool. Wishing her family a long life.
Ellen K. Pao (Project Include CEO, former Reddit CEO):
katie jacobs stanton (venture capitalist):