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A Google VP who led engineering for YouTube, Venkat Panchapakesan, died on Monday after a long battle with cancer.
Panchapakesan spent more than a decade at Yahoo, where he worked on several products and also led a research and development center in his native India before he left Yahoo in 2009.
After a brief stint as an entrepreneur in residence at Greylock Partners, he joined Google the next year. He was named engineering head for YouTube in June of the same year, reporting to CEO Susan Wojcicki.
His colleagues and friends described as a warm, giving and fiercely loyal person.
“Venkat was a deeply admired leader of our engineering team and we are extremely saddened by his passing,” Wojcicki said in a statement. “He was loved by the people who worked with him and will be missed by everyone who knew him. Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.”
Anand Chandrasekaran, the chief product officer for Airtel and Panchapakesan’s cousin, described him as a “hero to many.”Sharad Sharma, a former senior VP at Yahoo India, said his former colleague was “sharp yet humble,” with a demanding work ethic and “childlike zest.”
He is survived by his wife, Sandy and two children.