Sam Altman Returns as OpenAI CEO With (Mostly) New Board of Directors
We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo.
We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) November 22, 2023
Four days after OpenAI’s board of directors fired CEO Sam Altman, he has returned to his position, joined by president Greg Brockman, who followed him at the door soon after. The whirlwind drama since Friday at OpenAI may subside, though the landscape looks different after the chaotic and very public series of events. Altman’s plan to head up an AI team at Microsoft with others exiting OpenAI has evaporated, and Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear’s term as OpenAI’s interim CEO ended almost before it began.
OpenAI is reforming its board, removing almost every member except Quora co-founder Adam D’Angelo, despite questions raised over whether Quora’s generative AI hub Poe means he has a conflict of interest. Former Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor is now chairing the board, joined by ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Altman shared his own happiness at returning to OpenAI on X.
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 msft on sun evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m…
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 22, 2023
The reference to Microsoft, which owns a 49% stake in OpenAI, hints at how nearly all of the almost 800 OpenAI employees had said they would leave and join Altman at Microsoft if he was not reinstated. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had said he would welcome them all but seemed satisfied with how things had been resolved.
We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board. We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance. Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring… https://t.co/djO6Fuz6t9
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 22, 2023
Even Shear indicated he saw his own term ending as a positive.
I am deeply pleased by this result, after ~72 very intense hours of work. Coming into OpenAI, I wasn’t sure what the right path would be. This was the pathway that maximized safety alongside doing right by all stakeholders involved. I’m glad to have been a part of the solution. https://t.co/AGoDBbwhkq
— Emmett Shear (@eshear) November 22, 2023
There are still some questions. The place of OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever is uncertain, despite his rumored role heading up the ouster of Altman. D’Angelo, as the sole surviving board member despite the aforementioned potential conflict of interest, is notable. That Altman and Brockman didn’t see it as a dealbreaker suggests any number of scenarios. Maybe D’Angelo’s vote to fire Altman was not his true preference, and he was only using it as a way to remain in a position to bring back Altman. Perhaps he had some other bargaining chips that made his board seat safe. As Taylor and Summers are both blue chip cautious finance decisions in human form, investors and customers may feel a little more confident of OpenAI’s long-term stability.
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