Big shakeup at OpenAI: COO Brad Lightcap shifts out of role; Fidji Simo to take medical leave

OpenAI’s chief operating officer is shifting into a new role and two other top executives are going on leave due to health reasons, marking a major change to its executive bench ahead of a potential Wall Street debut as soon as this year.

Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s longtime COO, will now lead special projects and report directly to chief executive officer Sam Altman, according to a memo viewed by Bloomberg. One of his main efforts will be overseeing OpenAI’s push to sell software to businesses through a joint venture with private equity firms. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s recently appointed chief revenue officer, will be taking over some of Lightcap’s duties.