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OpenAI Names Sarah Friar as First CFO and Kevin Weil as Chief Product Officer

• ByStartupStory     |    June 12, 2024

OpenAI, the company behind the groundbreaking ChatGPT, has announced the appointment of Sarah Friar as its first Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Kevin Weil as Chief Product Officer (CPO). These strategic hires aim to bolster the company’s leadership team as it scales operations and prepares for its next phase of growth.

Friar, the former CEO of hyper-local social media platform Nextdoor, brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles, including CFO at fintech firm Square and board member positions at Walmart and Consensys. She has also held significant roles at Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company, and Salesforce. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Friar expressed her enthusiasm for the new role: “I’m delighted to join OpenAI! Excited to contribute to AI’s transformative power for humanity. As co-chair at Stanford Digital Economy Lab and a Walmart and Consensys Board member, I’m seeing AI’s profound impact already.”

Kevin Weil, who has a robust background in technology and product development, joins OpenAI after notable tenures at Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. His expertise is expected to drive innovation and product strategy at OpenAI.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, welcomed the new appointments, stating, “Sarah and Kevin bring a depth of experience that will enable OpenAI to scale our operations, set a strategy for the next phase of growth, and ensure that our teams have the resources they need to continue to thrive.”

The appointments come at a pivotal time for OpenAI, following the departure of Ilya Sutskever, co-founder and former chief scientist, last month. Sutskever, who was succeeded by Jakub Pachocki, played a significant role in the company’s leadership dynamics, including orchestrating Altman’s brief firing and subsequent rehiring last year.

In addition to these internal changes, OpenAI has recently expanded its collaboration with Apple. At the WWDC 2024 event, Apple announced that ChatGPT will be integrated into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. This integration will allow users to access ChatGPT for expertise, image, and document understanding within their Apple devices, and Siri will also leverage ChatGPT’s knowledge for more accurate answers. The technology will enhance Apple’s writing tools, aiding users in content creation.

“We’re excited to partner with Apple to bring ChatGPT to their users in a new way. Apple shares our commitment to safety and innovation, and this partnership aligns with OpenAI’s mission to make advanced AI accessible to everyone,” said Altman.

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