A handful of OpenAI executives are transitioning to new roles, according to a report from Bloomberg. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the personnel changes to TechCrunch.
AGI development CEO Fidji Simo announced in a note that Brad Lightcap, COO of OpenAI, has a new job leading “special projects,” which will include “complex deals and investments across the company.” He will report directly to CEO Sam Altman.
Denise Dresser, the former Slack CEO who recently joined OpenAI as chief revenue officer, will take over some of Lightcap’s commercial duties.
Simo also had news of her own to share: She will be taking medical leave for the next few weeks to deal with a neuroimmune condition.
“I have done everything possible to avoid it, but unfortunately my body is not cooperating,” Simo wrote in the memo obtained by Bloomberg.
“The timing is crazy because we have such an exciting roadmap ahead of us that the team is executing and I don’t like to miss a minute,” he said.
While on leave, OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman will manage the product.
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Kate Rouch, OpenAI’s chief marketing officer, will also step down from her role to focus on cancer rehabilitation, but will return to a “different, narrower role when her health permits,” the memo said. The company plans to seek a new CMO.
“We have a strong leadership team focused on our biggest priorities: advancing cutting-edge research, growing our global user base of nearly 1 billion users, and strengthening enterprise use cases,” OpenAI told TechCrunch in a statement. “We are well positioned to continue to execute with continuity and momentum.”
Update, 4/3/26, 6:25 p.m. ET with additional context surrounding Dresser’s role.
