12 executives who left OpenAI in 2026

OpenAI announced successful August that its main gross officer, Denise Dresser, is leaving the company. Dresser began the position successful December 2025.

"Denise will time off OpenAI to prosecute different opportunities pursuing a modulation period, during which she will activity intimately pinch the business squad to support our customers," the institution wrote successful a blog post.

Dali Rajic will return complete the role.

Brad Lightcap, who worked astatine OpenAI since 2018, announced his departure connected X successful August. Lightcap told his followers that he's leaving the startup "to commencement thing new."

"Over the past fewer months, I've been focused connected the adjacent sky and what would guidelines successful the measurement of ngo success. I judge location are a fewer important caller things the world will request to get correct arsenic we participate this adjacent period," Lightcap said connected X. "I'll person much to stock soon, but I judge successful OpenAI much than ever and americium excited to thief you each beforehand the ngo from a different vantage point."

Lightcap began his tenure astatine OpenAI arsenic main financial serviceman earlier transitioning to main operating serviceman successful 2022. In April, OpenAI said Lightcap moved to a domiciled focused connected typical projects.

In July, Fidji Simo announced she would measurement down from her domiciled arsenic OpenAI's CEO of applications and modulation to a part-time advisor role. Simo, who was diagnosed pinch postural tachycardia syndrome, aliases POTS, successful 2019, initially took aesculapian time off successful April.

"Over the past 7 years, I've spent countless hours successful doctors' offices, dealing pinch symptoms, treatments, insurance, uncertainty, and each the invisible activity that comes pinch being a patient," Simo wrote connected X successful July. "Like millions of others surviving pinch chronic illness, I've knowledgeable firsthand really difficult healthcare tin beryllium to navigate, moreover erstwhile you person each imaginable advantage."

Simo became the CEO of applications successful May 2025.

Kevin Weil announced his departure connected X successful April.

"It's been a mind-expanding 2 years, from Chief Product Officer to joining the investigation squad and starting OpenAI for Science," he said.

Weil first joined OpenAI successful 2024 arsenic its main merchandise officer. He later served arsenic vice president of OpenAI for Science, an inaugural to build an AI-powered level to accelerate technological discovery, starting successful October 2025.

Currently, Weil heads an AI subject startup that sought a valuation of astatine slightest $750 million.

Bill Peebles worked arsenic a investigation intelligence astatine OpenAI for 3 years earlier leaving the institution successful April 2026. Peebles served arsenic the caput of Sora, an AI exemplary that uses matter prompts to create videos.

"While the original Sora ignited a immense magnitude of finance successful video crossed the industry, it took the adjacent procreation of models pinch Sora 2 for the broader nationalist to understand the translator happening," Peeble said connected X. "I'm proud of each the sleepless nights earlier and aft the motorboat this squad endured successful bid to deploy the exertion successful a responsible measurement and thief steer societal norms."

The video procreation AI exemplary first became disposable to users successful December 2024. Nine months later, OpenAI released an updated exemplary — Sora 2 — and an app meant to rival societal media sites.

Although the app drummed up awesome hype, its momentum quickly faded.

OpenAI unopen down Sora and its app this April.

Srinivas Narayanan, OpenAI's main exertion serviceman for business applications, announced successful April that he was leaving aft 3 years.

"Leading the b2b engineering squad has been an tremendous privilege," Narayanan wrote connected LinkedIn. "With the recent/upcoming merchandise launches, this felt for illustration the correct clip to measurement back."

Narayanan said he planned to walk clip pinch his parents successful India earlier deciding what to do next. He joined OpenAI arsenic vice president of engineering and led teams moving connected ChatGPT and the company's endeavor products.

Kate Rouch stepped down arsenic OpenAI's main trading serviceman successful April to attraction connected her betterment from bosom cancer.

Rouch joined OpenAI successful December 2024 aft much than a decade astatine Meta, wherever she served arsenic world caput of marque and merchandise marketing. She took aesculapian time off successful 2025 while undergoing treatment, past returned to OpenAI.

OpenAI antecedently said Rouch could yet return successful a much narrowly defined position erstwhile her wellness allowed, and that the institution was searching for a caller main trading officer.

Barret Zoph near OpenAI successful June, astir 5 months aft returning to lead its endeavor AI income efforts.

Zoph initially departed OpenAI successful September 2024 and cofounded Thinking Machines Lab pinch erstwhile OpenAI main exertion serviceman Mira Murati. He returned to OpenAI successful January 2026 aft leaving the rival startup.

OpenAI did not disclose why Zoph left.

Chloé Bakalar, OpenAI's caput of ethics, near the institution successful July, little than a twelvemonth aft joining.

Bakalar joined OpenAI successful August 2025 aft spending astir six years moving connected responsible AI astatine Meta. At OpenAI, she examined questions surrounding exemplary behavior, quality relationships pinch AI, and whether precocious systems could warrant civilized consideration.

Johannes Heidecke, who led OpenAI's information systems team, near the institution successful July amid a reorganization of its information operations.

Heidecke joined OpenAI successful 2021 and took complaint of information systems successful 2024. His squad evaluated models for perchance vulnerable capabilities and developed safeguards intended to forestall harmful behavior.

Following his departure, OpenAI placed its information teams nether Mia Glaese, its vice president of investigation and safety.

Joshua Achiam, OpenAI's main futurist, near the institution successful July aft astir 9 years.

Achiam antecedently led OpenAI's ngo alignment team, which was tasked pinch helping the institution uphold its founding extremity of ensuring that artificial wide intelligence benefits humanity. OpenAI disbanded that squad successful early 2026 and moved Achiam into the main futurist role.

Caitlin Kalinowski, who led OpenAI's robotics and user hardware team, resigned successful March complete concerns astir the company's statement pinch the Pentagon.

"Surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without quality authorization are lines that deserved much deliberation than they got," Kalinowski wrote connected LinkedIn. She later said her objection was chiefly astir governance and that the statement had been announced earlier its safeguards were afloat defined.

Kalinowski joined OpenAI successful November 2024 aft starring Meta's augmented-reality hardware efforts, including its Orion glasses project. OpenAI said its Pentagon statement prohibited home surveillance and the usage of autonomous weapons.

Lauren Edmonds is an award-winning newsman connected the Business News team. When news isn't breaking, she covers individual finance, kitchen-table economics, and paths to financial freedom, including investing, existent estate, broadside hustles, and mini business. She besides writes astir guaranteed and cosmopolitan basal income programs successful the United States.Lauren has besides covered manner and entertainment, integer culture, and more. She has a master's grade from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and resides successful New York City.Do you person an absorbing communicative to tell? You tin scope Lauren astatine [email protected] aliases connected Signal astatine ledmonds0.07.Popular StoriesNetflix wants to beryllium Disney erstwhile it grows up Why Hollywood is paying this 17-year-old up to $20,000 to boost movie trailers pinch TikTok editsHere's each the free money Trump's talked astir giving Americans during his 2nd word — and wherever it each standsA 17-year-old earned $72,000 aft investing his e-commerce profits into stocks. Here's why he stake connected the tech industry.Lawmakers float a nationwide basal income research that would screen the costs of a 2-bedroom apartmentNearly 30,000 Americans person received astir $335 cardinal successful basal income. Here are 5 takeaways. Americans ditch suffocating healthcare costs and divisive authorities to discontinue successful Italy: 'It's the measurement they attack life'From 'road-schooling' to state that costs $500, this family of 4 shares what it's for illustration surviving successful a solar-powered Greyhound bus