The Special Committee of the OpenAI Board today announced the completion of the review by WilmerHale. The firm conducted dozens of interviews with members of OpenAI’s prior Board, OpenAI executives, advisors to the prior Board, and other pertinent witnesses; reviewed more than 30,000 documents; and evaluated various corporate actions. Based on the record developed by WilmerHale and following the recommendation of the Special Committee, the Board expressed its full confidence in Mr. Sam Altman and Mr. Greg Brockman’s ongoing leadership of OpenAI.
“We have unanimously concluded that Sam and Greg are the right leaders for OpenAI,” stated Bret Taylor, Chair of the OpenAI Board.
Sam Altman, as CEO, will rejoin the OpenAI Board of Directors.
The OpenAI Board also announced today the election of three new Board members as one part of its commitment to expansion, including:
- 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.
- Nicole Seligman, 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.
- Fidji Simo, CEO and Chair of Instacart and on the Board of Directors at Shopify
The new members have experience in leading global organizations and navigating complex regulatory environments, including backgrounds in technology, nonprofit and board governance. They will work closely with current board members Adam D’Angelo, Larry Summers and Bret Taylor as well as Greg, Sam, and OpenAI’s senior management.
Taylor further stated, “As Chair of the Board, I am excited to welcome Sue, Nicole, and Fidji to the OpenAI Board of Directors. Their experience and leadership will enable the Board to oversee OpenAI’s growth and to ensure that we pursue OpenAI’s mission of ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.”
The Board also announced the adoption of important improvements to OpenAI’s governance structure. Key enhancements include:
- Adopting a new set of corporate governance guidelines;
- Strengthening OpenAI’s Conflict of Interest Policy;
- Creating a whistleblower hotline to serve as an anonymous reporting resource for all OpenAI employees and contractors; and
- Creating additional Board committees, including a Mission & Strategy committee focused on implementation and advancement of the core mission of OpenAI.
The expanded board will prioritize its crucial work to enhance the governance procedures to best achieve OpenAI’s mission. “We recognize the magnitude of our role in stewarding transformative technologies for the global good,” added Taylor.
The Special Committee acknowledged the important work done by WilmerHale in conducting this extensive review and thanked OpenAI current and former Board members, advisors and employees for their cooperation. The Special Committee of OpenAI’s Board of Directors released a summary of findings.
