The tech world mourns Susan Wojcicki

Susan Wojcicki, a longtime Googler who spent nearly a decade as the CEO of YouTube, passed away Friday after a two-year battle non-small cell cancer.

Wojcicki, who was 56, famously rented the garage of her Menlo Park home to Larry Page and Sergey Brin as they were starting Google. She then became one of the company’s first 20 employees, taking on the chief executive role at YouTube in 2014, before stepping down last year.

Once her husband Dennis Troper and Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared the news on Friday night, Wojcicki’s colleagues, friends, and peers began posting their own memories and reflections. We’ve gathered some of their posts here; we will update as more are published.

Marc Benioff (Salesforce co-founder and CEO):

Reflecting on the profound impact of my dear friend and Salesforce board member Susan Wojcicki. Susan was a trailblazer in the industry, an exemplary mother, and a cherished friend. We shared so many fun family events and elegant programs celebrating her incredible success. She… pic.twitter.com/3JPbrAYkMC

— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) August 10, 2024

Tim Cook (Apple CEO):

Saddened to hear of the passing of Susan Wojcicki. She was one of Silicon Valley’s visionaries and she will be missed by so many. May she rest in peace.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) August 10, 2024

Neal Mohan (YouTube CEO):

Today we @youtube lost a teammate, mentor, and friend, @SusanWojcicki. I had the good fortune of meeting Susan 17 years ago when she was the architect of the DoubleClick acquisition. Her legacy lives on in everything she touched @google and @youtube. I am
forever grateful for…

— Neal Mohan (@nealmohan) August 10, 2024

Melinda French Gates (philanthropist):

Susan Wojcicki broke the mold. She was a visionary leader who intentionally pried open doors for the many young women who have followed her footsteps— and she remains a role model for people of all backgrounds who dream of careers in tech as meaningful and impactful as hers. I…

— Melinda French Gates (@melindagates) August 10, 2024

John Green (writer and YouTuber):

I’m heartbroken to learn that former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has died. She was (very quietly) the single biggest donor to our project supporting maternal health in Sierra Leone. She never once asked for credit or attention for her gifts–just privately supported our project and many others. An exceptional leader and person.

Hank Green (writer and YouTuber):

Susan stepped down from her role barely a year ago after leading youtube for nearly ten extremely complex and fraught years. I got to know her fairly well over that time and found her to be amazingly thoughtful but also surprisingly kind considering how goddamn tough she was. This is so fucking sad…

Diane von Furstenberg (fashion designer):

Rest in Peace dear Susan Wojcicki, mother, sister, daughter, loyal friend …Intelligent, thoughtful, funny … we will all miss you ❤️🙏❤️…witness to our century , Google started in her garage… YouTube blossomed under her leadership… She fought for her life and finally went to join her beloved son Marco ! The world won’t be the same without you …. Rest in Peace ❤️❤️❤️

Kara Swisher (journalist):

She was a true treasure in Silicon Valley, a kind, warm and loving woman who led with integrity, while also being a tremendous parent to five kids.

Marques Brownlee (YouTuber):

Really sad to hear the news of @SusanWojcicki passing. She took on one of THE most stressful positions and handled it with grace and vision and was incredibly gracious behind the scenes in ways most people never got to see. Cancer sucks. pic.twitter.com/mgOs9E4pHk

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) August 10, 2024

Emily Chang (journalist):

I’m heartbroken to hear of the passing of Susan Wojcicki. I always looked up to her as a mother of five who also built and led massive products and teams — and appreciated her willingness to share how she did it including in this old interview from 2016.pic.twitter.com/xgSm4TlsQD

— Emily Chang (@emilychangtv) August 10, 2024

Ron Conway (venture capitalist):

The world has lost Susan Wojcicki, one of the biggest contributors to the tech community, but more importantly one of the kindest, thoughtful human beings in addition to being a great Mom. Let’s strive to follow her example and make the world a better place in her honor

— Ron Conway (@RonConway) August 10, 2024

Alex Winter (director, “The YouTube Effect”):

RIP Susan Wojcicki. I interviewed her for our YouTube doc, and I found her brilliant, gracious, compassionate, and willing to listen to and consider some intense criticism of the platform.

Matt Ross (former YouTube executive and founder of Day2 Health):

Such sad news. Susan was an incredible leader but she led with compassion. She was so good to me when I got my Parkinson’s diagnosis and would incredibly find time to check in on me. She didn’t always like the creative work I presented. But had an amazing ability to reject work she didn’t like without making you feel like a complete idiot. Wishing her family a long life.