On Friday evening, OpenAI released the following statement: “Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”
This highlights a critical point of failure within public company boards: they must have a majority of independent directors. These individuals have no equity, are typically risk-averse and can put self-interest first. You must choose wisely who you bring on. Lesson: control your board or they will control you.
More senior individuals have left OpenAI following Sam’s departure. This includes Greg Brockman (Co-Founder and President), Jakub Pachocki (GPT-4 lead & Director of Research) and Aleksander Madry (Head of AI Risk).
Who would’ve thought a company partnered with Microsoft would be using last-minute Google Meets to let go of their CEO and President?