OpenAI announces Sam Altman will rejoin its board of directors, alongside three new members: Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Nicole Seligman, and Fidji Simo

Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Nicole Seligman, Fidji Simo join; Sam Altman rejoins board — We're announcing three new members to our Board …

OpenAI 2024-03-09

Context & Ripple Effects

This completes the board reconstruction that began with the deal to restore Altman as CEO and an interim board. The earlier plan was to build a larger formal board; Altman's return as a director now pairs that expansion with three named appointments.

The governance reset also followed Microsoft's addition as a non-voting board observer, making board composition consequential not only for OpenAI's leadership but for the oversight of its commercial relationships.

First-order effects

Altman regains a formal seat in the body that oversees OpenAI, while Desmond-Hellmann, Seligman, and Simo immediately broaden its director roster.
The appointments move the company beyond the temporary post-crisis arrangement and give the board a more settled membership for governance decisions.

Second-order effects

A more fully constituted board can reduce uncertainty for partners and employees after the leadership dispute, while making its oversight role more legible alongside Microsoft's observer position.
The new directors become central intermediaries between management and the nonprofit-controlled board, raising the practical importance of director independence and remit in future disputes.

Third-order effects

If this model holds, OpenAI's governance will increasingly be tested on whether a broadened board can independently oversee a founder-CEO while managing major commercial stakeholders.
The later move to make the safety and security committee fully independent of Altman, removing him from that committee, suggests governance may evolve toward more explicit separation between executive authority and safety oversight.

The trend: This is part of a broader shift in frontier-AI companies toward formalizing board oversight after rapid growth exposes tension between founder control, safety governance, and strategic partnerships.

Discussion

@kylie.robison Kylie Robison on threads
“I miss the old Elon” — @sama on stage at the @karaswisher book tour in SF
@parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on threads
very interesting group
@crumbler Casey Newton on threads
“I'm pleased this whole thing is over,” Altman told reporters. He also apologized for getting mad at former board member Helen Toner for contributing to a research paper that had been critical of the company. “When I believed a former board member was harming OpenAI, I think I …
@crumbler Casey Newton on threads
NEWS: @sama is officially back on the OpenAI board, as first reported by the Information. A press conference just ended in which the company announced he'll be joined on the board by Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Nicole Seligman, and Fidji Simo
@jowens510.bsky.social Jeremy C. Owens on bluesky
None of these people studied AI or computer science. Simo is an MBA type, Seligman is a lawyer and Hellman is a bio scientist. — How are they going to be a check on Sam Altman's power? — They aren't. And that's why they were chosen.
@miramurati Mira Murati on x
Governance of an institution is critical for oversight, stability, and continuity. I am happy that the independent review has concluded and we can all move forward united. It has been disheartening to witness the previous board's efforts to scapegoat me with anonymous and misle…
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
tgif https://www.nytimes.com/...
@pitdesi Sheel Mohnot on x
Sam Altman back on the OpenAI board, and they announced a few others Sue Desmond-Hellmann - fmr CEO of Gates Foundation, fmr Facebook board member, on Biden Council on Science & Technology Nicole Seligman - fmr president of Sony Entertainment (til 2016), formerly on the board of …
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
NEWS: former OpenAI Board members Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley respond to OpenAI's new board announcement and investigation results: https://www.nytimes.com/... [image]
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
as they also signed record settlements with SEC and FTC that protected MZ according to the derivative lawsuit filed after plaintiffs won the rights to inspect Facebook's board documents. Anyway, all stuff to think about with OpenAI board. Ps Simo was also at Facebook then. 4/2 [i…
@jeffladish Jeffrey Ladish on x
I don't trust Sam Altman to lead an AGI project. I think he's a deeply untrustworthy individual, low in integrity and high in power seeking It doesn't bring me joy to say this. I rather like Sam Altman. I like his writing, I like the way he communicates clearly, I like how he...
@ceciliazin Cecilia Ziniti on x
📰 Breaking - OpenAI appointed 3 new board members. Solid choices from my pov as a lawyer, AI founder, and corporate board member - here's why. 👇
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
two other things while you're here. there was an Easter egg hidden above in that, yes, Biden's chief of staff, Zients, was also on that board and departed during the same grand exodus. And yes, I would like to know what this redaction has underneath it. 3/2 [image]
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
The victory lap is complete. Sam Altman rejoins the OpenAI board, an external investigation has confirmed he was ousted due to internal politics not malfeasance and 3 new highly qualified female directors have joined the board. If you come at the king... https://www.reuters.com/.…
@ceciliazin Cecilia Ziniti on x
Fidji Simo @fidjissimo, Instacart CEO who came up at Meta, where she ran “the big blue F” app, i.e. the most used consumer app in history touching billions of people daily. Simo's known as one of Silicon Valley's best operators, in particular for her customer obsession. She...
@ceciliazin Cecilia Ziniti on x
Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann - the former CEO of the Gates Foundation. She has run what's universally known as among the best-run non-profit in the world. For ... the OG of software moguls, Bill Gates. Undoubtedly knows governance, non profit rules, and how to impact the world...
@hlntnr Helen Toner on x
A statement from Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley: [image]
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
@OpenAI lol
@gdb Greg Brockman on x
We started OpenAI out of my apartment eight years ago. And we're still just getting started:
@ceciliazin Cecilia Ziniti on x
Nicole Seligman - former exec at big stakes copyright holder Viacom, whose subsidiary, Nickelodeon, owns the IP in cultural icons like Dora. She also ran Sony Entertainment, both a tech company AND a copyright holder. Sony has given the world big IP cases and precedent,...
@sama Sam Altman on x
i'm very happy to welcome our new board members: fidji sami, sue desmond-hellmann, and nicole seligman, and to continue to work with bret, larry, and adam. i'm thankful to everyone on our team for being resilient (a great openai skill!) and staying focused during a challenging...
@anissagardizy8 Anissa Gardizy on x
breaking @theinformation: - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is rejoining the board of directors - 3 new directors: Sue Desmond-Hellmann (ex Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation CEO), Nicole Seligman (ex president of Sony Entertainment), Fidji Simo, (Instacart CEO) https://www.theinformation.c…
@steph_palazzolo Stephanie Palazzolo on x
And... he's back. Other new board members: Sue Desmond-Hellmann, a former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Nicole Seligman, a former president of Sony Entertainment; and Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart. Exclusive on @theinformation: https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
@amir Amir Efrati on x
breaking: Sam Altman is returning to OpenAI board per @lauramandaro, plus 3 new board appointees and Ilya still talking about remaining maybe. https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
Other key points here: - OpenAI nonprofit structure isn't changing, at least for now. - 3 other new board members being added today, including Instacart CEO Fidji Simo - Doesn't look like the full investigation will be released, we still don't really know what happened
@iankar_ Ian Kar on x
Fidji Simo might be one of the most powerful women in tech—CEO and Chair of Instacart, Board of Shopify & OpenAI
@ceciliazin Cecilia Ziniti on x
PPS - Sam Altman @sama gets back on the board, cool. In my experience, the founder/CEO should be on the board. It's too awkward if not, especially given what happened here with Sam and his ouster, a blunder for the company. #OpenAi #BoardGovernance
@shiringhaffary Shirin Ghaffary on x
Former OpenAI board members, Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley, put out a statement. “We hope the new board does its job in governing OpenAI and holding it accountable to the mission.”
@teddyschleifer Teddy Schleifer on x
Sue Desmond-Hellmann is the most interesting new member of the OpenAI board.
@nmasc_ Natasha Mascarenhas on x
BREAKING: Sam Altman to return to OpenAI board. New members set to join: Sue Desmond-Hellmann, a former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Nicole Seligman, a former president of Sony Entertainment; and Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart. https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
@reedalbergotti Reed Albergotti on x
The Information breaking the story on Sam Altman's return to OpenAI board is a nice ending to their impressive run of Altman ouster scoops.
@lexnfx Alexei Oreskovic on x
TLDR: We're never going to tell you anything more about what actually went down. Just trust us that you don't need to worry about it. https://openai.com/...
@openai @openai on x
New additions to our board: Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Nicole Seligman, and Fidji Simo; Sam Altman will also rejoin https://openai.com/...
@emostaque @emostaque on x
Great board for a SaaS company, but tasked with AGI & how to mitigate it ending democracy, capitalism, humanity? Meh Enough, going to do https://www.stabilityagi.com/ for real, but make it distributed not SV, collective not collected For the people by the people #decentralizeAI
@miramurati Mira Murati on x
[Slack screenshot: “Hi everyone, Some of you may have seen a NYT article about me and the old board. I find it frustrating that some people seem to want to cause chaos as we are trying to move on, but to very briefly comment on the specific claims there: Sam and I have a strong …
r/singularity r on reddit
OpenAI announces new members to board of directors
@alexheath Alex Heath on threads
Other key points here: - OpenAI nonprofit structure isn't changing, at least for now. - 3 other new board members being added today, including Instacart CEO Fidji Simo - Doesn't look like the full investigation will be released, we still don't really know what happened
@paul_rietschka Paul Rietschka on threads
OpenAI is a joke, part infinity. Everyone, all together: “Is this a company, or a lemonade stand manned by e/acc freaks and assorted grifters?” Spoiler: it's a lemonade stand.
@kalihays1 Kali Hays on threads
Mira Murati, OpenAI's CTO, on the results of the internal investigation and on the NYT story from yesterday that reported she was very key to Sam Altman's firing (before doing a big 180). She posted a Slack message she sent to staff about it, saying she gave the previous board “…
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
so maybe helpful in confidence for OpenAI accountability but noteworthy context in my mind that Facebook covered up stuff for years while she was on audit cmte then watched as they settled for $5b protecting MZ. FB appealed to SCOTUS just this week on a related lawsuit. 2/2
@garymarcus Gary Marcus on x
Everyone will see what they want to see, but it was always all about trust. [image]
@stevenheidel Steven Heidel on x
we're still so back
@openai @openai on x
“We have unanimously concluded that Sam and Greg are the right leaders for OpenAI.” — Bret Taylor, Chair of the OpenAI Board The Special Committee of the OpenAI Board has announced the completion of the independent review into November's events. https://openai.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
The Information glosses over this stuff but I think it's relevant to point out Desmond-Hellman was lead indy director at Facebook when things unravelled 2015-19 and was in the great board departure being probed deeply in Delaware court. 1/2 [image]
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
The EU official responsible for setting antitrust fines on hearing about Apple's latest shenanigans banning Epic from building a competing App Store in compliance with the DMA [video clip: Oppenheimer puts on his jacket and hat and goes to work at the Manhattan Project]
r/OpenAI r on reddit
OpenAI investigation says it was wrong to fire Sam Altman. Altman will rejoin OpenAI's board after an independent investigation found …
@karissabe Karissa on threads
after all this time we somehow know even less about why all this happened
@crumbler Casey Newton on threads
The Wilmer Hale review of last year's ouster ended and blamed it on a “breakdown of communication” between Altman and the board, which was the same thing everyone said before the investigation. So we really learned nothing else there other than the law firm saying the board did …
@marypcbuk.bsky.social Mary Branscombe on bluesky
Can you still have product safety without trust in the CEO? [embedded post]
@alexheath Alex Heath on threads
During a brief call with reporters today that I was on, Altman was asked about the employment status of OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who played a key role in the failed coup and has since gone quiet. Altman said there was “nothing to announce” but that “Ilya is awesome,” an…
@jowens510.bsky.social Jeremy C. Owens on bluesky
The OpenAI board is meant to be a check on the for-profit entity, to ensure they develop AI for good instead of monetization. — Simo is KNOWN for monetization. She helped Facebook monetize its mobile app. Hellman is a doctor and cancer researcher. Seligman is known for ... g…
@bindureddy Bindu Reddy on x
Ilya is not reinstated to the open AI board. Where is Ilya, and what did he see?
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
During a brief call with reporters today that I was on, Altman was asked about the employment status of OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who played a key role in the failed coup and has since gone quiet. Altman said there was “nothing to announce” but that “Ilya is awesome,”...
@jessicalessin Jessica Lessin on x
.@theinformation just broke exclusively that OpenAI selected three very respected business women to join the board. Interesting to me it is always the same women tapped for these boards. Went for governance and business chops over technical. https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
r/singularity r on reddit
Sam Altman to return to OpenAI Board of Directors

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