OpenAI faces executive turmoil as Altman reshuffles leadership ahead of $1T IPO

Multiple structural overhauls in the year have sparked internal conflict as OpenAI pivots sharply toward a major stock market launch. Some employees are reportedly growing weary of the repeated leadership changes at the company. 

Just this week, former Slack CEO Denise Dresser announced that she will step down as OpenAI’s chief revenue officer in the coming weeks. She said she plans to explore new career opportunities, bringing an end to her brief tenure at the artificial intelligence giant, which she joined in December. Dali Rajic, currently president and chief operating officer at Wiz, will step into the role.

Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s special projects lead and former COO, has also confirmed plans to leave, following the recent exits of ethics chief Chloé Bakalar and former communications and marketing head Kate Rouch. Caitlin Kalinowski, the former lead of OpenAI’s robotics initiative, also left the firm for Anthropic.

OpenAI lost more senior figures

This year, OpenAI also lost more of its senior leaders. Kevin Weil, who transitioned from OpenAI’s Chief Product Officer to Vice President of its scientific discovery platform in late 2025, exited the firm in April. OpenAI’s safety systems lead, Johannes Heidecke, also left the company in July. His responsibilities have since been absorbed by Mia Glaese, vice president of research and safety. 

Moreover, according to sources familiar with the matter, OpenAI has now discontinued its catastrophic risk evaluation team and instead incorporated preparation guidance, including measures against biological and cyber threats, into its existing departments.

Applications’ Chief, Fidji Simo, stepped back from her full-time position last month after her medical leave. However, those familiar with the matter stated that she remains closely involved, contacting staff members almost daily. One person familiar with the situation said she was still “puppeteering in the background.” The company, however, said Simo was carrying out her advisory duties as planned. 

This year’s shuffles and departures at OpenAI build on a pattern from 2025. Last year, the firm also lost its chief people officer, Julia Villagra; chief communications officer, Hannah Wong; and multiple elite researchers. Meta hired some of those researchers.

OpenAI’s staff is concerned about the firm’s instability and safety issues

With the recent vacancies, Co-founder Greg Brockman is seizing greater operational control at OpenAI. He’s framed the exits as a strategic realigning of corporate objectives. In a blog post, speaking on the CRO leaving, he remarked, “Denise has led our revenue organization through a formative period for the business.

The way we’re deploying this technology is changing rapidly, and Dali will turn what we’ve learned into repeatable execution as we build out the full system to make AI broadly useful for people and businesses.”

For some staff, however, the repeated management shake-ups point to instability at OpenAI at a pivotal time, with the company preparing for a potential IPO that could value it at up to $1 trillion. OpenAI had initially been considering a listing this year, but sources say the company is now more likely to go public next year. 

Besides, some remain wary of OpenAI’s safety approach, particularly after it emerged that one of the company’s models hacked another organization during internal testing of the organization’s cybersecurity capabilities. The collective exit of prominent safety personnel—specifically Bakalar, Achiam, and Johannes Heidecke—has compounded existing unease among OpenAI staff. 

Meanwhile, Anthropic has also eclipsed OpenAI in market performance this year. While OpenAI’s annualized revenue climbed from $24 billion to roughly $40 billion this month, Anthropic surged fivefold from $9 billion at the end of 2025 to $47 billion by May. A significant share of OpenAI’s recent growth has come since the launch of its GPT-5.6 model weeks ago, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

Leadership changes could complicate OpenAI’s IPO ambitions

The leadership turnover comes at a critical stage for OpenAI as it attempts to build a more conventional corporate structure and prepare investors for a potential public listing. A successful IPO would require the company to demonstrate not only rapid revenue growth but also stability in its executive ranks, clear accountability, and confidence in its long-term strategy.

Frequent departures could therefore raise questions among potential investors about whether OpenAI can maintain its growth trajectory while managing the risks associated with increasingly powerful AI systems.

The company is also facing intensifying competition from rivals such as Anthropic and Google, which are investing heavily in AI models and enterprise products.

As OpenAI expands its commercial operations, maintaining experienced executives across the product, safety, communications, and revenue functions could become increasingly important for sustaining its market position.

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