OpenAI has announced a major shake-up in its leadership and board composition, once again. Sam Altman, who was recently ousted, will return as CEO, with a newly formed board chaired by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor.
This development on late Tuesday evening follows a tumultuous series of events that began last Friday with Altman’s firing by OpenAI’s non-profit board.
The newly constituted board will include prominent figures such as former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo, co-founder of Quora. Independent directors Tasha McCauley and Helen Toner, along with OpenAI’s chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, will depart. Greg Brockman, previously OpenAI’s board chair and president, will also return to the company, after quitting in protest of Altman being ousted last week.
Significantly, an independent investigation into the circumstances leading to Altman’s initial dismissal is planned, as per a source familiar with the matter, reports Axios.
The backdrop of these changes began last Friday when OpenAI’s board fired Altman, citing a lack of candor in his communications. Microsoft, a key partner and investor in OpenAI, and Altman announced on Sunday their collaboration, following the latter’s departure.
The situation escalated on Monday when OpenAI’s employees overwhelmingly demanded the board’s resignation through an open letter, threatening mass resignation. This move included signatures from almost all employees, including Sutskever, who initially supported Altman’s firing. In response to this crisis, OpenAI appointed Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear as interim CEO.
Analysts suggest that the publication of the open letter with near-unanimous employee support was a turning point in the crisis. The board, while anticipating Altman’s efforts to return, did not foresee the extensive employee support for him.
Beyond the boardroom upheaval, this incident highlights the broader industry debate over the pace at which AI tools are being deployed and commercialized, following the rapid success of ChatGPT, OpenAI’s wildly popular generative AI product.
OpenAI’s Tuesday night decision marks a return to the direction under Altman’s leadership since 2019, notably when OpenAI formed a for-profit subsidiary to attract significant investments, including from Microsoft.
In statements on X, Altman expressed his commitment to OpenAI and its mission, while Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella welcomed the changes to the OpenAI board as a positive step towards effective governance. Brockman also announced his return to OpenAI and coding activities.
“I love OpenAI, and everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. When I decided to join [Microsoft] on [Sunday] evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. With the new board and [with] Satya’s support, I’m looking forward to returning to OpenAI, and building on our strong partnership with [Microsoft]”, said Altman on late Tuesday night.
That’s four OpenAI CEOs in just five days. Talk about drama just before the major U.S. Thanksgiving weekend.
