Altman and Brockman OpenAI’s New Board Members: Check the New vs. Old List Here!

After reviewing the WilmerHale findings, the Special Committee recommended that the full Board endorse the November 21 decision to rehire Mr. Altman and Mr. Brockman. Knowing the review’s findings, the Special Committee expressed its full confidence in Mr. Altman and Mr. Brockman’s ongoing leadership of OpenAI. 

Sam Altman, as CEO, will rejoin the OpenAI Board of Directors. “We have unanimously concluded that Sam and Greg are the right leaders for OpenAI,” stated Bret Taylor, Chair of the OpenAI Board.

The OpenAI Board also announced on March 08, 2024 the election of three new Board members as part of its commitment to expansion, including: 

1. Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and on the Board of Directors at Pfizer and on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology 
2. Nicole Seligman, former EVP and Global General Counsel of Sony and President of Sony Entertainment, is on the Board of Directors at Paramount Global, Meira GTx, and Intuitive Machines, Inc 
3. Fidji Simo, CEO and Chair of Instacart and on the Board of Directors at Shopify

The OpenAI Board of Directors is a group of individuals elected to represent shareholders and oversee the activities of a company or organization. Currently, OpenAI’s board of directors consists of OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology’s Helen Toner. (As of November 17, 2023, Press Briefing)

What do OpenAI board members do?

6 Major Responsibilities of OpenAI Board Members:

1. Governance and Oversight: The board ensures the company adheres to legal standards and ethical norms.
2. Policy and Strategy Development: They set broad policies, objectives, and overall direction for the organization.
3. Financial Management: This includes approving annual budgets, ensuring the availability of adequate financial resources, and overseeing major financial transactions.
4. Hiring and Evaluating Key Executives: Boards often hire and monitor the performance of the CEO and other top executives.
5. Risk Management: They are responsible for identifying significant risks to the organization and ensuring systems are in place to manage them.
6. Accountability: The board must account to the stakeholders for the organization’s performance and the decisions they make.

Who are OpenAI donors and advisors?

Based on OpenAI’s Latest Announcement 

OpenAI Donors: List of persons Donating to OpenAI 

OpenAI donors are Jed McCaleb, Gabe Newell, Michael Seibel, Jaan Tallinn, Ashton Eaton, and Brianne Theisen-Eaton. Reid Hoffman is significantly increasing his contribution. (OpenAI Announcement dated February 20, 2018)

OpenAI Advisors: List of persons Advisors  to OpenAI

The persons on the OpenAI advisory board are Pieter Abbeel, Julia Galef, and Maran Nelson, who are becoming advisors to OpenAI. 

Elon Musk Left the OpenAI Board: According to the latest information from OpenAI, Elon Musk will depart the OpenAI Board but will continue to donate and advise the organization. As Tesla continues to become more focused on AI, this will eliminate a potential future conflict for Elon. 

Name and their Bussiness Profile of OpenAI Board of Directors

OpenAI CEO: Sam Altman

OpenAI Chief Scientist: Ilya Sutskever 

Sutskever was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, in 1985. He studied computer science at the Open University of Israel and the University of Toronto, where he earned his Ph.D. under the supervision of Geoffrey Hinton. After completing his doctorate, Sutskever worked as a research scientist at Google Brain and co-founded the startup DNNResearch.

OpenAI Independent Directors: Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo

Adam D’Angelo is an American internet entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Quora, a question-and-answer website where questions are asked, answered, edited, and organized by its community of users. D’Angelo was previously the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Facebook from 2006 to 2008. He was also a member of Facebook’s board of directors.

OpenAI Technology Entrepreneur: Tasha McCauley

Tasha McCauley is the wife of the American actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. She is a robotics engineer and the CEO of GeoSim Systems, a company that develops software for the robotics industry. 

Greg Brockman: OpenAI Board Members

Brockman was born in Thompson, North Dakota, in 1988. He displayed a strong aptitude for mathematics and computer science from an early age, winning a silver medal in the 2006 International Chemistry Olympiad and becoming the first finalist from North Dakota to participate in the Intel Science Talent Search. He attended Red River High School, where he excelled in various academic areas, including mathematics, chemistry, and computer science.

Elon Musk: Previous OpenAI Board Member

Elon Musk will depart the OpenAI Board but will continue to donate and advise the organization. As Tesla continues to become more focused on AI, this will eliminate a potential future conflict for Elon. He has founded 14 companies and is known for his entrepreneurial business and investment. 

Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann: New OpenAI Board Member

Former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and on the Board of Directors at Pfizer and on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology

Sue Desmond-Hellmann is an American oncologist and biotechnology leader who served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from 2014 to 2020. In March 2024, she was elected as a board member of OpenAI. She was previously Chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), the first woman to hold the position, and Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Distinguished Professor, and before that, president of product development at Genentech, where she played a role in the development of the first gene-targeted cancer drugs, Avastin and Herceptin. Read More: SUSAN DESMOND-HELLMAN : University of California San Francisco

Nicole Seligman: New OpenAI Board Member

Former EVP and Global General Counsel of Sony and President of Sony Entertainment and on the Board of Directors at Paramount Global, Meira GTx, and Intuitive Machines, Inc.

Ms. Seligman was the President of Sony Entertainment, Inc., a multinational entertainment company, from 2014 to 2016, and of Sony Corporation of America from 2012 to 2016. From 2005 through 2014, she served as the Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel of Sony Corporation. She joined Sony in 2001 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Sony Corporation of America. Prior to joining Sony, she was a partner in the litigation practice at Williams & Connolly LLP where she worked on a broad range of complex civil and criminal matters and counseled a broad range of clients, including President William Jefferson Clinton and Hillary Clinton.  Read More: Nicole Seligman

Fidji Simo: New OpenAI Board Member

CEO and Chair of Instacart and on the Board of Directors at Shopify

Fidji Simo: Is a French businessperson and the CEO and Chair of Instacart. Prior to taking that position, she was head of the Facebook app at Facebook, and Vice President of Video, Games, and Monetization. She co-founded and is currently president of the Metrodora Foundation, a health clinic and research institute.