OpenAI: Fidji Simo steps down from her operational role for health reasons
The French executive, who joined OpenAI after leading Instacart and Meta, will step down from her full-time role to focus on recovering from a chronic illness. She will continue to work with the company as a part-time consultant
Fidji Simo is stepping down from her operational role at OpenAI. The French manager has announced that she will be stepping down from her full-time role to take on a part-time consultancy role, following a long period of absence due to the worsening of a chronic neuroimmunological condition.
In a post on social media, Simo explained that three months ago she was forced to stop working due to a severe flare-up of the condition she has been living with for seven years. During her convalescence, she wrote, it became clear that her recovery would be “longer and more complex” than expected, making it necessary to devote all her energy to her health.
This departure marks yet another change at the top of the company led by Sam Altman at a crucial stage for the group, which is focused on expanding its commercial offering and strengthening its leadership in generative artificial intelligence. During Simo’s absence, some of his responsibilities had already been redistributed amongst President Greg Brockman, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar and Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon. This division of responsibilities will now become permanent.
She joined OpenAI after leading Instacart and following more than a decade at Meta, where she had held key roles in the development of the Facebook app, Simo initially joined the company’s board of directors before taking on operational responsibilities. In recent months, she had overseen product and business operations, whilst Sam Altman focused primarily on research and the development of the infrastructure required for future artificial intelligence models.
Despite stepping down, Simo will remain associated with the company as a consultant. In her message, she reiterated her continued belief in OpenAI’s mission and in the potential of artificial intelligence, particularly in the healthcare sector, emphasising how new technologies can help improve people’s lives, including through medical research.
