The face of OpenAI – Sam Altman, is set to join the OpenAI board after a probe concluded that his conduct did not mandate removal (on November 17, 2023) from his service.
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The Special Committee declared the completion of the review and OpenAI shared a statement on March 8. After dozens of interviews with OpenAI’s stakeholders and a review of over 30,000 documents, the decision of Altman’s dismissal was examined.
Following the Committee’s recommendation, the leadership “expressed full confidence” in Altman and Greg Brockman (OpenAI president who resigned following Altman’s ouster). “We have unanimously concluded that Sam and Greg are the right leaders for OpenAI,” said Bret Taylor, Chair of the OpenAI Board. Altman will join the Board of Directors as the CEO.
The AI research and deployment company also announced three new Board members, including Dr Sue Desmond-Hellmann (former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), Nicole Seligman (former EVP and Global General Counsel of Sony Corporation) and Fidji Simo (CEO and Chair of Instacart). The members will work with board members – Bret Taylor, Adam D’Angelo, Larry Summers, Brockman, Altman and other senior staff.
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“The new members have experience in leading global organisations and navigating complex regulatory environments, including backgrounds in technology, nonprofit and board governance,” the OpenAI statement said. Further, the Board has announced the adoption of improvements to OpenAI’s governance structure, such as new corporate governance guidelines and strengthening the Conflict of Interest Policy of the company.
Moreover, the company aims to create a “whistleblower hotline” for anonymous tips. Plus, “additional Board committees, including a Mission and Strategy committee focused on implementation and advancement” of the company’s mission will be created.
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“The prior Board acted within its broad discretion to terminate Mr Altman, but also found that his conduct did not mandate removal,” WilmerHale’s findings revealed. The Committee recommended that the Board endorse the November 21 decision to rehire both the top officials to OpenAI.
