By D. Maan, Jadetimes News
Susan Wojcicki, Former YouTube Chief, Dies at 56
Susan Wojcicki, who was the chief executive of YouTube and one of the earliest employees of Google, died on Saturday. She was 56. Her death was announced by Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Google, in a social media post in which he expressed his deep sadness over losing Wojcicki, who he said was "as core to the history of Google as anyone."
Wojcicki's relationship with Google began in 1998 when she allowed the founders of the search engine, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, to use her garage in Menlo Park as a temporary workspace. Her early involvement with the company led her to leave Intel and join Google, thus becoming the firm's 16th employee. All through these years, Wojcicki played a very significant role in building Google and its different efforts.
In 2014, Wojcicki became chief executive of YouTube, the online video sharing platform owned by Google. In her nine years as CEO, she steered the platform through incredible growth and change. Her time in charge has, however, been dogged by controversy. YouTube continues to face fierce criticism over its handling of online disinformation, particularly related to the Covid 19 pandemic. In 2022, a group of fact checking organizations slammed YouTube, stating it was one of the major gateways for online disinformation.
Wojcicki's reason for leaving YouTube in 2023 was to work on her family, her health, and her personal interests. The day she left marked an end to the epoch built by the platform and the world of technology, where she had turned into a leading figure. She has also impacted YouTube and technological space quite immensely.
This is one of the fiercest champions when it comes to increasing women in tech. Wojcicki has made several comments related to this. She tended to recognize the gender imbalance and seriously focused on how she could inspire girls to take up careers in technology; the digital future was very influential.
Her husband, Dennis Troper, announced her death with heartfelt sadness, mentioning that Wojcicki had been fighting non small cell lung cancer for the past two years. Troper recalled her as the most loving wife, tender mother of five children, and mentioned that her loss had been overwhelming to the family.
Susan Wojcicki left her mark on the tech world with her pioneering spirit, her contribution to early successes at Google, and her leadership at YouTube. She was a woman whose contributions will be remembered in the industry when the community in tech, alongside her family, is grappling with her untimely passing.
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