Open AI has announced the hire of two experienced executives with an eye for a potential IPO down the road.
Sarah Friar [pictured] is joining as Chief Financial Officer. She will lead a finance team that supports the company’s mission by providing continued investment in core research capabilities, and ensuring that it can scale to meet the needs of the growing customer base and the complex and global environment in which the company is operating.
Kevin Weil is joining Open AI as Chief Product Officer. He will lead a product team focused on applying research to products and services that benefit consumers, developers, and businesses.
Sarah most recently served as CEO of Nextdoor. She was previously CFO at Square, and also worked at Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and Salesforce. She is a Board Member of Walmart and Consensys, a Fellow of the Aspen Institute, and Co-Chair of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, an integral component of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI).
Kevin was most recently President, Product and Business at Planet Labs. He was previously the co-founder of the Libra cryptocurrency and VP of Product for Novi at Facebook, VP of Product at Instagram, and SVP of Product at Twitter. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and serves on the boards of The Nature Conservancy and Black Product Managers Network.
“I’m honored to join a team that is uniquely talented and mission-focused,” said Sarah Friar. “My goal is to help OpenAI continue excelling at what it does best—producing top-tier research and collaborating to maximize the benefits of AI tools for everyone.”
“The product team at OpenAI has set the pace for both breakthrough innovation, and thoughtful deployment of AI products,” said Kevin Weil. “I am thrilled to be part of the next phase of growth, as we continue to safely and responsibly build towards AGI.”
“Sarah and Kevin bring a depth of experience that will enable OpenAI to scale our operations, set a strategy for the next phase of growth, and ensure that our teams have the resources they need to continue to thrive,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
