Susan Wojcicki, Former YouTube CEO, Dead at 56 After Cancer Battle

At Google, she also oversaw its fledgling Google Video initiative, which soon faced extreme competition.

“Another site launched YouTube and it started growing faster—a lot faster—and all of a sudden, we saw our newfound success slipping away,” she recalled. “And just after we thought we were winning, we found out that we were losing. “

Wojcicki said she had to make a “tough call”—keep building out Google Video and “hope we catch up” or “admit our failure” and try to buy YouTube. 

In 2006, a year after the video sharing platform was launched, Google acquired it for $1.65 billion.

In 2014, Wojcicki was appointed CEO of YouTube, a position she held until 2023, when she stepped down, announcing in a statement that she planned to “start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about” and “take on an advisory role across Google and [parent company] Alphabet.”