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- OpenAI is racing toward an expected IPO amid pressure to justify its valuation and compete with Big Tech.
- Business Insider looked at the company's internal org chart to map the executives steering the ship.
- CEO Sam Altman has 10 direct reports, while CEO of Applications Fidji Simo has 13.
Who's in charge at one of the most powerful companies in the world?
As OpenAI races toward an expected IPO, faces mounting pressure to justify its valuation, and tries to fend off its Big Tech rivals, a small circle of executives and researchers is steering the ChatGPT maker through a defining moment.
To map the power players shaping OpenAI's future, Business Insider looked at the upper ranks of the company's internal organizational chart.
As of February, CEO Sam Altman had 10 direct reports, including Greg Brockman, president and cofounder; Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki; and Chief Research Officer Mark Chen.
In August, Fidji Simo officially joined as the CEO of applications and began reporting to Altman. Simo, the former CEO of Instacart and Facebook app lead at Meta, heads up the company's consumer and enterprise product lines. She's been tasked with scaling the business into a revenue-generating powerhouse.
Since she joined the company, OpenAI has rolled out ads and numerous updates to its enterprise product.
Simo had 13 direct reports, according to the February org chart, including the head of ChatGPT, Nick Turley, and Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Friar. Some of Simo's reports, including Turley, previously reported to Altman.
Barret Zoph, the general manager of B2B, rejoined the company in January and began reporting to Simo. Zoph left OpenAI in February 2025 to help found Thinking Machine Labs alongside former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati.
Both Altman and Simo also have administrative staffers who report directly to them.
Executive shifts at OpenAI are often fast-moving, and its org chart can be fluid. Last week, Instagram's head of partnerships, Charles Porch, announced he had joined OpenAI. Vanity Fair reported that Porch, who is known for bringing celebrities to Instagram, would work directly with Simo.
Altman also announced earlier this month that the company is bringing on Peter Steinberger, the man behind the viral AI agent social media network OpenClaw.
Altman's direct reports:
| Name | Position |
| Greg Brockman | President and Cofounder |
| Mark Chen | Chief Research Officer |
| Johannes Heidecke | Head of Safety Systems |
| Adam Majmudar | Researcher |
| Jakub Pachocki | Chief Scientist |
| Aditya Ramesh | Vice President of Worldism |
| Fidji Simo | CEO of Applications |
| Dane Stuckey | Chief Information Security Officer |
| Peter Welinder | Vice President and General Manager |
Simo's direct reports:
| Name | Position |
| Ashley Alexander | Vice President of Health Products |
| Gary Briggs | Senior Advisor, Marketing |
| Sarah Friar | Chief Financial Officer |
| Irina Kofman | Head of Strategic Initiatives |
| Jason Kwon | Chief Strategy Officer |
| Brad Lightcap | Chief Operating Officer |
| Hunter Muir | Chief of Staff to the CEO of Applications and Special Projects |
| Vijaye Raji | Chief Technology Officer of Applications |
| Kate Rouch | Chief Marketing Officer |
| Thibault Sottiaux | General Manager for Codex |
| Nick Turley | Vice President, Head of ChatGPT |
| Barret Zoph | General Manager of B2B |
By comparison, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had 19 direct reports, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had 36 direct reports as of 2025.
The number of direct reports isn't necessarily reflective of overall team size. Simo manages nearly two-thirds of the company, according to a source familiar with the structure.
Dane Stuckey, the chief information security officer, has more than 20 of his own direct reports, and Peter Welinder, who works on the company's hardware device, has more than 50.
Most of Altman's other direct reports have around a dozen of their own reports.
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