Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Dies

Googlers,

You may have heard the news that Susan Wojcicki has passed away after battling lung cancer for the past two years. Even as I write this, it seems impossible that this could be true. Susan was one of the most active and dynamic people I have ever met. Her loss is devastating to all of us who knew and loved her, to the thousands of Googlers she led over the years, and to the millions of people around the world who admired her, benefited from her advocacy and leadership, and felt the impact of the incredible things she created at Google, YouTube, and beyond.

Susan’s journey from renting a garage from Larry and Sergey, to leading teams in consumer products and growing our advertising business, to becoming CEO of YouTube, one of the world’s largest platforms, is inspiring in every way. But she didn’t stop there. As one of Google’s first employees (and the first to take maternity leave), Susan used her position to create a better workplace for everyone. And in the years since, her advocacy for parental leave has set a new standard for companies everywhere. Susan was also deeply passionate about education. She understood early on that YouTube could be a learning platform for the world and championed “edutubers” (science, technology, engineering, and math students) — especially those who were expanding the reach of education to underserved communities.

Over the past two years, despite her own personal challenges, Susan has dedicated herself to making the world a better place through her philanthropy, including supporting research into the disease that ultimately took her life. I know it meant a lot to her, and I am so glad she took the time to do it.

Susan always put others first, both in her values ​​and in her daily life. I will never forget her kindness to me as a future “Noogler” 20 years ago. During my interview at Google, she took me out for ice cream and a walk around campus. I was hooked on Google and Susan.

I feel very fortunate to have spent so many years working closely with Susan, as I am sure many of you do. She was absolutely adored by her teams here. Her time on earth was far too short, but she made every minute count.

We’re in close contact with Susan’s family, including her husband and fellow Googler, Dennis. We’ll share more soon about how we’ll be celebrating her incredible life. In the meantime, let’s honor Susan’s memory by continuing to build a Google she’d be proud of.

-Sundar