Altman officially back as OpenAI CEO

Today as Board Chair I sent the attached letter on behalf of the Board to the OpenAI community. I’m excited to be working with my board colleagues Adam and Larry, the OpenAI Leadership, and all OpenAI stakeholders. The Board's focus is stabilizing the company, building out a qualified and diverse board, and enhancing governance procedures consistent with the importance and complexity of OpenAI’s mission.? ? Before taking on this responsibility, I had a full plate of?commitments. As I have communicated to board colleagues and management, when these transitional tasks have been completed, I intend to step away and leave the oversight of OpenAI in the good hands of board colleagues. https://lnkd.in/eCsfgPwm

More OpenAI news: First, OpenAI has officially restored Sam Altman as CEO and plans to give a non-voting board observer seat to Microsoft. Under the deal, detailed in memos and a?post?by OpenAI, former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor will be OpenAI chairman, joined initially on the board by former Treasury Secretary?Larry Summers?and Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo. Co-founder Ilya Sutskever will exit the board and his future with the company remains uncertain. Sutskever voted to oust Altman before changing direction and helping push for his return. "While Ilya will no longer serve on the board, we hope to continue our working relationship and are discussing how he can continue his work at OpenAI," Altman said in a memo. https://lnkd.in/g76giyRx Second, Altman tells Axios that the "highest priority" for the company's new board is exploring a range of changes to "improve the governance structure" — including whether OpenAI remains controlled by a non-profit entity. Altman added?that he hopes that the independent review of events that was a condition of his return will shed light on why he was ousted in the first place. "I'd like to understand it better," he said.

Sam Altman is back as CEO, Mira Murati as CTO, and Greg Brockman as President. OpenAI has a new initial board. Here are the messages from our CEO, Sam Altman, and the board chair, Bret Taylor, that were shared with the company this afternoon. ???:?https://lnkd.in/dX4tH6K4

???? The OpenAI leadership blog by Sam dropped today, the day before ChatGPT's first birthday. Here's the excerpt you really need to see: "Before getting to what comes next, I’d like to share some thanks. I love and respect Ilya, I think he's a guiding light of the field and a gem of a human being. I harbor zero ill will towards him. While Ilya will no longer serve on the board, we hope to continue our working relationship and are discussing how he can continue his work at OpenAI." https://lnkd.in/d6uZbXba Much respect for Ilya's contribution. What happened won't happen again at OpenAI. What I find most fascinating is how publicly this has played out. In most private companies a co-founder like Ilya's next steps (a graceful exit or something else is unclear so let's not guess) would not be discussed in the open. What a year. Happy Birthday ChatGPT.

Sam Altman is back as CEO, Mira Murati as CTO, and Greg Brockman as President. OpenAI has a new initial board. Here are the messages from our CEO, Sam Altman, and the board chair, Bret Taylor, that were shared with the company this afternoon. ???:?https://lnkd.in/dX4tH6K4

OpenAI, the #AI company behind #ChatGPT, has appointed a new board of directors and added Microsoft as a non-voting observer after a series of events that led to the firing of its CEO and the near-departure of hundreds of employees. Read more: https://bit.ly/47yjqm5

One week, Adam D'Angelo was helping fire OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The next, Sam was back as CEO, Adam was still on the board, and the two of them were schmoozing around on Thanksgiving. What? Priya Anand and I looked into this crazy situation https://lnkd.in/gijUih8S

Sam started a company that was different. The product would enable data science to support humanity vs. driving profits. He secured investors, created the product and then, in a very public display, was ousted by the board, along with his co-founder. As I watched the Sam Altman/AI story unfold, the parallels to elements of ‘The Shift’ that is occurring in workplaces was uncanny. Here are five lessons learned: 1.?????Reports that upwards of 707/713 employees wrote an open letter to the board stating they would quit unless Altman was reinstated.?Lesson: there is no ‘company’ without employees. 2.?????The employees held those in power accountable.?Lesson: #GenZ is purpose driven and will hold others, regardless of position, to the standards and stated ethics of the company. 3.?????The board fired both founders because ‘it was within their right to do so.’?Insight: Just because a state is ‘at-will’, or you have a contract doesn’t mean you can fire ‘just because’. State and federal laws always prevail. 4.?????The board’s firing was a ‘surprise attack’.?Lesson: gone are the days of quick detachment firing and instead, how you fire should be as important as how you hire. (Check out my podcast interview with Claude Silver of VaynerMedia in the comments below. She is getting this right) 5.?????He was beloved by his employees.?Lesson: Never underestimate the power and impact of a truly great leader. Someone that inspires, is trusted, has a vision, and is grounded in doing good for others. They are the ones keeping your organization profitable at 2-3x the rate of an average leader. And the ultimate lesson: Today, true leadership is earned power that is used for good. Not the one with the biggest stick. The Shift is here. The workplace is changing. Is your company prepared? #samaltman #openAI #kindfiring #csuite #leadership #boards