OpenAI Appoints Sarah Friar as CFO and Kevin Weil as CPO

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OpenAI, the renowned artificial intelligence company, announced on Monday the appointment of Sarah Friar, former CEO of Nextdoor, as its first chief financial officer (CFO). Alongside Friar, Kevin Weil, a seasoned professional with prior experience at Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, has been named as the company’s chief product officer (CPO).

Friar brings a wealth of experience to her new role, having previously served as CFO at Square and holding positions at esteemed firms such as Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and Salesforce. Weil’s background in product development, garnered from his tenure at prominent tech companies, positions him well to drive OpenAI’s product strategy forward.

In a statement, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed confidence in the capabilities of the newly appointed executives, emphasizing their ability to facilitate the company’s growth and provide essential support to its teams.

These appointments come in the wake of the departure of OpenAI’s co-founder and chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, in May. Sutskever’s exit saw Jakub Pachocki stepping into the role of chief scientist, having previously led the development of pivotal projects like GPT-4 and OpenAI Five.

Sutskever’s departure marked a significant moment in OpenAI’s recent history, notably amid Altman’s tumultuous firing and subsequent reinstatement in November of the previous year. Sutskever’s involvement in Altman’s reinstatement, followed by his removal from the board, underscored a period of transition for the company’s leadership.

Further changes ensued with the exit of Andrej Karpathy, a prominent AI researcher and founding member of OpenAI, in February. In March, the company announced the appointment of new directors, including Altman himself, Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Nicole Seligman, and Fidji Simo, signaling a strategic shift in governance and leadership.

As OpenAI navigates these transitions and bolsters its leadership team with seasoned industry professionals, it remains poised to advance its mission of developing cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies while navigating the evolving landscape of tech and innovation.