OpenAI Executive Shake-Up: Fidji Simo Takes Medical Leave, COO Brad Lightcap Moves to Special Projects

OpenAI announced a major leadership reorganization on Friday as Fidji Simo, the company's CEO of AGI deployment, takes medical leave to focus on her health. President Greg Brockman will handle product teams in her absence.

In a note shared with OpenAI staff viewed by WIRED, Simo revealed she had a relapse of a neuroimmune condition before starting the job. "It's been a bit of a rollercoaster since, and the last month has been particularly rough health-wise," she wrote. She is expected to take "several weeks" of leave.

COO Brad Lightcap, one of CEO Sam Altman's top deputies, is transitioning to a "special projects" role overseeing forward-deployed engineers embedded within enterprise organizations. CMO Kate Rouch is also taking a leave of absence for breast cancer treatment and will return in a "more narrowly scoped role."

The company will begin searching for a new CMO and a chief communications officer to replace Hannah Wong, who left in January. OpenAI recently raised $122 billion in the largest tech funding round ever, valuing the company at $852 billion as it eyes an IPO this year.

The shake-up comes at a critical moment — Simo recently shuttered the Sora social-video app and told staff the company needed to cut side projects and refocus around core products like ChatGPT and Codex. The company serves nearly 1 billion users globally.