Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki dies at 56: what was the cause of death?

Susan Wojcicki, the former YouTube CEO, died at the age of 56 on Friday after a two-year battle against small cell lung cancer.

In a Facebook post written on Friday night, Wojcicki’s husband Dennis Troper revealed the news and paid tribute to wife, sharing a number of family photos along with a touching message.

“It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki’s 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. Susan 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.”

Small cell lung cancer is an aggressive, fast-growing form of cancer which accounts for in the region of 20% of all lung cancer diagnoses in the United States.

Wojcicki one of Google’s first employees

Wojcicki was also a long-time Google executive, becoming one of the company’s first few employees when she joined in 1999.

She held a role as senior vice president for ad products with the tech giant before switching over to YouTube, which Google bought for $1.65 billion in 2006.

The Californian took over as YouTube CEO in 2014 but resigned from her position in 2023, saying she needed to focus on “family, health, and personal projects”. Since then, she had advisory roles with Google and Alphabet, its parent company.