OpenAI Executive Leadership Team [2025]

OpenAI is one of the most transformative forces in modern technology, reshaping the landscape of artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction. From the creation of the GPT language models to the launch of ChatGPT and foundational breakthroughs in reinforcement learning and safety research, OpenAI has established itself as both a technical pioneer and a public-facing innovator. As the world debates the future of AI ethics, alignment, and regulation, OpenAI’s executive leadership is at the heart of shaping that future—one that balances rapid innovation with responsible stewardship.

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OpenAI Executive Leadership Team [2025]

1. Sam Altman – CEO & Co-Founder

Sam Altman is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of OpenAI. A highly influential figure in Silicon Valley, Altman previously served as president of Y Combinator before co-founding OpenAI in 2015. Known for his bold vision to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) that benefits humanity, Altman has led OpenAI through major product milestones including the launches of GPT-3, ChatGPT, and the GPT-4 model family. In 2023, he was briefly removed from his position in a high-profile board dispute, only to return days later with widespread employee and investor support. Altman is also an outspoken voice on AI safety, regulation, and the long-term implications of advanced machine intelligence. He studied computer science at Stanford University before leaving to pursue startup ventures and is regarded as a visionary blending entrepreneurial energy with philosophical depth on the future of AI.

2. Greg Brockman – President & Co-Founder

Greg Brockman serves as President of OpenAI and was one of its original co-founders. Previously the CTO of Stripe, Brockman brought critical experience in scaling infrastructure and developer-first platforms to OpenAI. He has played a central role in building and deploying the GPT model family, aligning OpenAI’s research direction with productization and safety objectives. Brockman leads technical strategy across systems engineering, model development, and API delivery. In addition to his engineering contributions, he is a public advocate for responsible AI deployment and has frequently emphasized OpenAI’s need to balance rapid innovation with global accessibility. He holds a degree from Harvard and briefly attended MIT, where he focused on mathematics and computer science before leaving to join the tech industry.

3. Jakub Pachocki – Chief Scientist

Jakub Pachocki was appointed Chief Scientist at OpenAI in early 2024, succeeding co-founder Ilya Sutskever. Pachocki is a renowned machine learning researcher and previously led key efforts in GPT-4 development and reinforcement learning at OpenAI. His work spans deep learning theory, optimization algorithms, and scalable training systems, with a strong emphasis on safety and reliability. As Chief Scientist, Pachocki now oversees research in AGI, alignment techniques, and multimodal model development. He is known internally for pushing both scientific rigor and experimental creativity, helping OpenAI maintain its competitive edge in cutting-edge AI research. His elevation to this role marks OpenAI’s continued investment in fundamental science as a cornerstone of its mission.

4. Brad Lightcap – Chief Operating Officer

Brad Lightcap is OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer, responsible for global operations, strategic execution, revenue generation, and external partnerships. A former investor at Y Combinator and partner at Dropbox, Lightcap has become the architect behind OpenAI’s commercial trajectory. He was instrumental in launching and monetizing ChatGPT, as well as scaling enterprise partnerships with Microsoft and Fortune 500 companies. Lightcap also plays a lead role in navigating OpenAI’s evolving business model—from nonprofit research lab to capped-profit commercial entity. He manages the interface between research, engineering, and product teams, ensuring operational alignment with the company’s AGI goals. Known for his execution focus and sharp business acumen, Lightcap is a key pillar of OpenAI’s leadership infrastructure.

5. Sarah Friar – Chief Financial Officer

Sarah Friar is OpenAI’s Chief Financial Officer, having joined in 2024 from her prior role as CEO of Nextdoor and, earlier, as CFO of Square (now Block). She brings decades of experience in financial strategy, capital markets, and IPO readiness. At OpenAI, Friar oversees finance, treasury, compliance, and investor relations—critical roles as the company matures toward long-term capital sustainability and potential public offerings. Friar is also tasked with optimizing resource allocation as OpenAI invests heavily in infrastructure (such as model training compute), safety research, and enterprise services. She holds a degree from Oxford University and an MBA from Stanford and is widely respected as a strategic operator who blends financial rigor with mission-oriented leadership.

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6. Kevin Weil – Chief Product Officer

Kevin Weil serves as OpenAI’s Chief Product Officer, leading product development across both consumer and enterprise offerings. He is responsible for defining the user experience of ChatGPT, shaping the roadmap for OpenAI’s API products, and guiding integrations across platforms like Microsoft’s Copilot. Prior to joining OpenAI, Weil held senior roles at Twitter (where he was SVP of Product), Instagram (VP of Product), and Novi at Meta, bringing deep expertise in scaling global consumer platforms. Weil’s focus at OpenAI is ensuring that the company’s cutting-edge AI technologies translate into intuitive, reliable, and impactful products. He is known for building teams that move fast without compromising on design quality, and he plays a vital role in maintaining OpenAI’s product leadership in a competitive AI landscape.

7. Jason Kwon – Chief Strategy Officer

Jason Kwon is OpenAI’s Chief Strategy Officer, overseeing corporate development, long-term planning, legal coordination, and ecosystem partnerships. A Stanford Law graduate, Kwon was previously OpenAI’s General Counsel before transitioning to this broader strategic role. His work includes shaping OpenAI’s policies on AI safety, data use, and international governance, as well as leading discussions on the company’s structure, mission alignment, and investor dynamics. Kwon has played an influential role in navigating OpenAI’s unique capped-profit model and coordinating legal frameworks that balance openness with security. He brings both legal expertise and a strategic mindset, helping OpenAI stay agile in a landscape shaped by public scrutiny and global regulation.

8. Che Chang – General Counsel

Che Chang leads OpenAI’s legal team as General Counsel, overseeing litigation, compliance, contracts, intellectual property, and regulatory matters. She joined OpenAI from Amazon, where she was known for handling complex regulatory issues and platform governance. At OpenAI, Chang plays a key role in managing legal risk related to rapidly advancing AI technologies, particularly in areas like data licensing, model usage rights, export controls, and privacy law. She collaborates closely with product, policy, and infrastructure teams to ensure legal guardrails are embedded across operations. Her work is critical in preparing OpenAI to operate responsibly under increasing regulatory scrutiny from the U.S., EU, and other jurisdictions.

9. Anna Makanju – VP of Global Affairs

Anna Makanju is Vice President of Global Affairs at OpenAI, leading the company’s external engagement on policy, ethics, public safety, and geopolitical collaboration. A former advisor to President Joe Biden and expert in international law and conflict resolution, Makanju brings a deep understanding of diplomacy and regulation to the AI space. At OpenAI, she interfaces with governments, civil society, and international organizations to help shape global AI policy in ways that promote responsible innovation and minimize risks. She is also a public voice for OpenAI’s stance on safety, alignment, and global equity in access to AI tools. Her background includes roles at the UN, NATO, and the U.S. Department of State.

10. Mark Chen – Senior Vice President of Research

Mark Chen is the SVP of Research at OpenAI, where he co-leads the development of frontier models, including multimodal systems and safety-focused architectures. One of the original architects behind DALL·E and major GPT research papers, Chen works closely with Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki to define research priorities that align with OpenAI’s AGI goals. His work spans areas like fine-tuning, interpretability, and capability forecasting, and he plays a key role in translating academic research into deployable models. Known for bridging theoretical depth with engineering execution, Chen helps OpenAI stay at the cutting edge of model innovation while addressing key risks associated with scale and generalization.

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11. Srinivas Narayanan – Vice President of Engineering

Srinivas Narayanan is OpenAI’s Vice President of Engineering, leading the teams responsible for the deployment and optimization of the company’s infrastructure, developer platforms, and applied model services. Previously a senior engineering leader at Meta, Narayanan brings experience scaling large AI-powered systems and building enterprise-grade platforms. At OpenAI, he focuses on maintaining the robustness and reliability of services like ChatGPT and the API while improving efficiency in model training and inference. He also supports the integration of OpenAI’s technology into partner ecosystems such as Microsoft Azure and Copilot. Known for his technical leadership and calm execution, Narayanan is critical to OpenAI’s success in shipping reliable, real-time AI products to global users.

12. Nick Turley – Head of Product, ChatGPT

Nick Turley leads product strategy for ChatGPT, overseeing its evolution from a research preview to a mainstream, multi-million-user application. Joining from Instacart, where he led consumer product teams, Turley has driven innovation across ChatGPT’s interface, subscription tiers (e.g., ChatGPT Plus), and business use cases. His focus is on expanding usability across industries, improving UX across web and mobile platforms, and integrating new capabilities from the latest models such as GPT-4 and beyond. He works closely with research and engineering to ensure the product reflects the frontier of OpenAI’s capabilities while remaining intuitive and secure for end users.

13. Julia Villagra – Chief People Officer

Julia Villagra serves as Chief People Officer at OpenAI, leading the organization’s talent development, hiring, performance systems, and internal culture. With a background in both startup and large-scale HR environments, Villagra plays a key role in maintaining OpenAI’s strong internal mission alignment while scaling a fast-growing, high-performance team. She focuses on retaining top research and engineering talent, building inclusive practices, and evolving OpenAI’s organizational design to support its AGI goals. Villagra also works on executive development and long-term team sustainability in a field characterized by rapid change and high external interest.

14. Bret Taylor – Chairman of the Board

Bret Taylor serves as Chairman of the Board at OpenAI. A well-known Silicon Valley entrepreneur and product leader, Taylor previously served as Co-CEO of Salesforce and was the co-creator of Google Maps and former CTO of Facebook. He is currently CEO of AI startup Sierra. As Chairman, Taylor provides strategic oversight, advises on governance, and supports executive decision-making related to OpenAI’s mission, structure, and long-term accountability. His appointment followed OpenAI’s board realignment in late 2023 and signals the organization’s focus on strong, independent governance in the age of AGI development.

15. Fidji Simo – CEO of Applications

Fidji Simo is OpenAI’s CEO of Applications, a new role created in 2024 to lead product, revenue, and go-to-market functions across ChatGPT and future consumer-facing tools. Formerly CEO of Instacart and a senior product leader at Meta (Facebook), Simo brings a proven track record in monetization, user growth, and product scale. At OpenAI, she is responsible for developing new verticals, accelerating revenue generation, and preparing the applications division for potential spinout or IPO. Her focus includes enterprise tools, personalization features, and improving ChatGPT’s value proposition for both individual and organizational users. Simo also plays a leading role in balancing ethical product design with commercial growth.

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Conclusion

OpenAI’s executive team represents a unique convergence of visionary ambition, technical mastery, and operational discipline—all anchored around a singular mission: ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. From Sam Altman’s long-term thinking and Greg Brockman’s infrastructure vision, to research innovation under Jakub Pachocki and product excellence from leaders like Kevin Weil and Fidji Simo, this C-suite blends cutting-edge science with real-world scale. The team not only manages world-leading AI systems like GPT-4 and ChatGPT, but also tackles the immense challenges of global policy, AI alignment, ethical deployment, and sustainable growth in one of the most scrutinized sectors in technology.

At DigitalDefynd, we help executives and emerging leaders make sense of what leadership looks like at the frontier of innovation. Whether you’re seeking inspiration from transformative teams like OpenAI’s, evaluating executive structures, or preparing for your own leadership evolution, our insights, resources, and curated executive education programs are designed to help you lead with clarity in an AI-powered future.