Sam Altman Returns: Who’s on the New OpenAI Board?
On November 22, OpenAI's 738 employees received an anticipated announcement on the company's official account. In a previous open letter, they called for the return of ex-CEO Sam Altman and the disbandment of the current board of directors. And their voices were heard.
Consequently, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, previously ousted from OpenAI, have now rejoined the company.
Sam Altman was initially open to the idea of returning to the company, albeit with a significant stipulation. He, along with a majority of OpenAI employees, pushed for a change in the composition of the board of directors. Initially, these negotiations failed, prompting Altman to transition to a role at Microsoft. This move was followed by the pivotal letter from OpenAI's specialists, who threatened to resign en masse in solidarity with Altman, which ultimately swayed the decision. As a result, the existing board of directors, previously analyzed in detail, was disbanded, with only Adam D'Angelo, the co-founder and CEO of Quora, retaining his seat.
“Unnecessary drama. D'Angelo should be gone. Still owned by Microsoft,” commented a user named Smoke-away on X, expressing skepticism about the presence of the 'old guard' in the new OpenAI board of directors
Now, let's shift our attention to examining the replacements for those who decided to dismiss Sam Altman. First in line is Bret Taylor, slated to assume the role of the new chairman of the board.
Bret Taylor, New Chairman of the Board of Directors at OpenAI Source: techcrunch.com
Bret Taylor, aged 43, is an accomplished American programmer and entrepreneur with a Stanford background. He initiated his professional journey at Google in 2003 as a junior product manager, swiftly climbing the ranks to head Google Maps by 2005. Taylor left Google two years later and, along with other ex-Google employees, founded FriendFeed, an aggregator that Facebook swiftly acquired for $50 million. Post-acquisition, Taylor joined Facebook as its Chief Technology Officer.
In 2012, Taylor left Facebook to establish Quip, a project competing with Google Docs. Four years on, the startup was acquired by Salesforce, a Californian cloud software developer. That year also saw Taylor join Twitter's board of directors, later becoming its chairman in 2021. He continued in this role until Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022. Musk's takeover led to significant staff changes, during which Taylor also held various directorial roles at Salesforce, a position he earned following Quip's sale. Under his leadership, Salesforce acquired the Slack platform.
In OpenAI, Bret Taylor succeeded Greg Brockman as the chairman of the board. Interestingly, Taylor’s appointment, especially after his contentious exit from Twitter orchestrated by Musk, seems like a subtle counter to the current Twitter owner. Musk, who is often regarded as the estranged founder of OpenAI, had left the company due to ideological differences.
Larry Summers, Member of the Board of Directors at OpenAI Source: news.miami.edu
Lawrence H. Summers, who served as the Treasury Secretary during the Clinton administration, is a renowned American economist. He achieved a professorship at Harvard University at just 28 years old, becoming one of the youngest professors in Harvard’s history. Recognized by prominent publications like Time, Foreign Policy, and The Economist as one of the world's most influential thinkers, Summers' impressive career includes roles such as the Director of the White House National Economic Council in the Obama Administration, President of Harvard University, and Chief Economist at the World Bank.
Summers' term as Treasury Secretary is often linked with the longest period of continuous economic growth in U.S. history. He is the only U.S. Treasury Secretary in the past 50 years who left the position with a national budget surplus.
I will always be grateful that at a time of great peril for our country, a man of Larry’s brilliance, experience and judgment was willing to answer the call and lead our economic team,President Obama remarked.
“Markets should allocate capital, labour and ideas without interference, but sometimes markets go haywire, and must be counteracted forcefully by government.” This is how The Economist magazine described the so-called "Summers Doctrine" – Larry Summers' approach to economic policy during financial crises.Besides his role at OpenAI, Dr. Summers also serves on the boards of several American companies: Square, specializing in mobile payments; Doma, operating in the real estate sector; and SkillSoft Corporation, which provides software and content for managing educational processes.
The addition of high-profile figures like Taylor and Summers to OpenAI's board of directors is likely to offset the reputational risks stemming from Sam Altman's departure and the subsequent employee revolt. However, it's unclear if this will resolve the ideological discord among the company's stakeholders and visionaries. The fact that three OpenAI CEOs were dismissed within a single week suggests deeper issues than mere whims of the former board.
