Susan Wojcicki, former CEO of YouTube, passes away at age 56 following cancer fight
During her time at Google, she was also responsible for the Google Video project, which faced tough competition early on.
Reflecting on that period, she said, “Another site called YouTube launched and grew rapidly—much faster than us—and suddenly our success seemed to be slipping away. Just when we thought we were winning, we realized we were actually losing.”
Wojcicki had to make a difficult decision: continue developing Google Video and hope to catch up or accept defeat and try to acquire YouTube.
In 2006, just a year after YouTube was launched, Google purchased the platform for $1.65 billion.
In 2014, Wojcicki became the CEO of YouTube, a position she held until 2023 when she stepped down. In a statement she announced her decision to “start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about” and to take on an advisory role within Google and its parent company, Alphabet.