Susan Wojcicki

Susan Wojcicki was one of Silicon Valley's most influential leaders, serving as CEO of YouTube from 2014 to 2023 and Google's 16th employee. She rented her garage to Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998, joined Google as its first marketing manager, created AdWords and AdSense, and convinced Google to acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion. Under her leadership, YouTube grew to 2 billion logged-in users monthly and paid out over $30 billion to creators. A pioneering advocate for women in technology and paid parental leave, she was named one of Time's 100 most influential people and the most powerful woman on the internet. She passed away in August 2024 at age 56 after a two-year battle with lung cancer.