As OpenAI began to transition from a research-focused organization to a true tech giant building out its commercial capacity, the AI leader brought on a spate of experienced execs—many of whom were women. There was
Fidji Simo, leading commercial applications and later nearly the entire business side; Sarah Friar, readying the company for an IPO as CFO; Kate Rouch as CMO; and Denise Dresser, the former CEO of Slack hired as OpenAI’s chief revenue officer.
About two years after that hiring spree began, only one of those executives—Friar—remains in her original role at OpenAI. Simo and Rouch both left their roles
for health reasons (Simo is still working in an advisory role). Today, it was reported that Dresser is
stepping down less than a year after joining OpenAI.
Recently, Dresser had been tasked
with “growing sales among large businesses looking to adopt artificial-intelligence tools in their workforces.” Her replacement is Wiz president and COO Dali Rajic, and he will be responsible for turning “what we’ve learned into repeatable execution as we build out the full system to make AI broadly useful for people and businesses,” OpenAI president Greg Brockman said. The WSJ reported that Dresser is stepping down to pursue other opportunities.
After Simo’s exit, Brockman took over many of her responsibilities at OpenAI. (Some went to chief strategy officer Jason Kwon, and others to Friar.) When Simo was in her full-time executive role, two-thirds of the organization reported up to her—including many other execs. To be fair, the upheaval among OpenAI’s exec ranks has extended to men too; COO Brad Lightcap
announced his exit last week. Overall, it’s a new era with, it seems, a new executive team.
When OpenAI began hiring this crop of execs, it seemed like a signal that maybe this era of Big Tech could be different. Women execs were excited about this world-shifting moment in technology, and didn’t want another generation of tech giants to pass them by. Many had the exact skill sets needed to turn AI labs into money-making enterprises. With AI reshaping how we work, live, and relate to each other, it was encouraging to know women would be at the table steering those enormously consequential decisions.
But that era was short-lived. Big AI is not so different from Big Tech. There are still notable female founders in the space (like Daniela Amodei and Mira Murati). And women continue to lead AI companies’
finance functions, from Friar to Ruth Porat and Anat Ashkenazi at Google, to CFOs at Nvidia and Oracle. Within OpenAI, there are rising female execs one level below the top like Ashley Alexander, who leads consumer verticals, and Joy Jiao, who was just elevated under Brockman as head of life sciences. But it no longer feels like a given that women will be in the room for some of these companies’ most critical business decisions.
Once again, we’re reminded of how significant the exit of every female exec from the very top is, when there are still so few. Within OpenAI, two out of three departures of female execs were due to their health—something out of the control of the company. (Their successors have all been men, though.)
AI is transforming our world. If it’s going to be for the better for all of us, we need women at the table.
Emma Hinchliffeemma.hinchliffe@fortune.comThe Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’
s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here.
