Sam Altman On the OpenAI board, nearly four months after the CEO was fired and quickly reinstated from the company he founded. Although Altman returned as CEO of the artificial intelligence company in November, an interim board oversaw his return and subsequent investigation into his conduct.
That investigation is now complete, according to the company, which added three new members to its board of directors. Additions include: Instacart CEO and former Meta CEO Fiji Simo, former Sony executive Nicole Seligman, and former Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann. Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor, economist Larry Summers and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, who served on the interim three-seat board, will remain in their roles, continuing Taylor’s chairmanship.
The announcement caps several months for the AI company By Altman sudden expulsion last fall.
OpenAI also published on Friday summary From the findings of the law firm WilmerHale, which the company’s board retained in December 2023 to conduct an independent investigation into the events that led to Altman’s dismissal. Still, we’re no closer to knowing exactly why Altman, who rejoined the company as CEO within five days, was fired.
“WilmerHale [found] The board’s previous decision was not motivated by concerns about the safety or security of the product, the pace of development, OpenAI’s finances, or its statements to investors, customers or business partners,” the summary said. “Rather, it was the result of a breakdown in the relationship and loss of trust between the previous Board of Directors and Mr. Altman.” WilmerHale also concluded that OpenAI’s previous board abruptly fired Altman without notifying “key stakeholders” and without giving Altman an opportunity to respond to their concerns.
To reach this conclusion, the firm reviewed more than 30,000 documents over the past few months and conducted dozens of interviews with OpenAI employees, including former board members.
