OpenAI undergoes dramatic C-suite overhaul ahead of IPO — CMO to step down for cancer recovery, COO moves on to new role

According to a Bloomberg report, AGI development CEO Fidji Simo recently announced that OpenAI is undergoing a major overhaul of its management team.

Simo said he was on serious medical leave due to his worsening neuroimmune condition, according to the report, which cited a memo reviewed by Bloomberg.

“The timing is maddening because we have an exciting roadmap ahead of us that the team is working on, and I would hate to miss even a minute of it,” Simo said in a company memo about the decision to go on leave. “But the company is in good hands; we have an excellent leadership team ready to step in.”

Simo, who was hired by OpenAI in May last year and is involved with the company’s products and business, was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS, in 2019. He added in the memo to employees that the past month had been “particularly difficult from a health perspective” and that he needed to take a few weeks off to feel better.

“During my time here, I postponed medical tests and new treatments in order to focus entirely on my work and not miss a single day of work,” Simo wrote in the memo seen by Bloomberg.

“Two weeks ago I took time off for the first time for some medical tests and it is now clear that I have gone a little too far and I really need to try new interventions to stabilize my health,” he added.

Simo joined OpenAI after leaving his position as CEO at Instacart. In recent weeks, he has played a key role in the company’s efforts to streamline its wide range of services and develop a single “Super App” that would combine a chatbot, coding tool, and web browser.

OpenAI announces leadership changes

AGI CEO announced that OpenAI President Greg Brockman will oversee the product department in Simo’s absence.

Fidji Simo also announced several other executive-level changes at OpenAI.

Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s long-time COO, will now lead special projects and report directly to Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman. Denise Dresser, the company’s chief revenue officer, will assume most of her responsibilities. He will report directly to Simo.

In other news, Marketing Director Kate Rouch will be stepping down to focus on cancer recovery. Rouch was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer about a year and a half ago, shortly after joining OpenAI.

Simo said Rouch would return to a narrower role once he deemed it fit from a health standpoint, and OpenAI would continue its search to find a new CMO.

“I love this job. I love this team. That’s exactly why I stayed and did both—leading OpenAI while undergoing intense cancer treatment,” Rouch wrote in a post on LinkedIn. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. At some point you have to be honest about your limits. I’ve reached my limits.”

OpenAI IPO

The major change in leadership comes at a crucial time for OpenAI, as the company is preparing for a possible IPO.

Earlier this week, OpenAI raised $122 billion in funding at an $852 billion valuation.

“We have a strong leadership team focused on our top priorities: advancing pioneering research, growing our global user base of nearly 1 billion users, and powering enterprise use cases,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement, according to Bloomberg. “We are well positioned to continue moving forward with continuity and momentum.”