Instacart Inc. Chief Executive Officer Fidzi Simo speaks during a Bloomberg Studio 1.0 interview in San Francisco, California, US, on Thursday, March 3, 2022.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | getty images
OpenAI head of product and business Fidji Simo announced several leadership changes on Friday and revealed she is taking significant medical leave due to a worsening neuroimmune condition.
OpenAI hired Simo in May, and his condition, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, resurfaced just weeks before he landed the role. He told employees in a memo Friday that the past month has been “particularly difficult health-wise,” and he decided he would take several weeks off to recover.
“For my entire time here, I have postponed medical testing and new treatments to remain completely focused on the job and never miss a day of work,” Simo wrote in the memo seen by CNBC. “I took time off for the first time two weeks before the break for some medical tests, and now it’s clear that I’ve gone too far and I really need to try new interventions to stabilize my health.”
In an interview with CNBC in March, Simo said he was diagnosed with POTS in 2019, and he saw more than 40 specialists trying to understand his condition. Patients with POTS have difficulty keeping their blood pressure stable, which can lead to symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue, and chest pain. cleveland clinic. This condition can be challenging for health care providers to diagnose.
Simo joins OpenAI after serving as CEO instacartAnd she previously spent more than a decade in several leadership roles meta.
Greg Brockman, president of OpenAI, will oversee the product in Simo’s absence, he said. Simo also announced that Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s chief operating officer, will transition to a new role focused on “special projects.” He will report directly to Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.
Dennis Dresser, the company’s Chief Revenue Officer, will assume most of LightCap’s responsibilities and report directly to Simo. Dresser will not oversee LightCap’s OpenAI work for governments or countries, which is now being folded under the company’s strategy organization.
Additionally, Simo announced that OpenAI’s head of marketing, Kate Rauch, has decided to step down to focus on her cancer recovery. Rauch was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer about a year and a half ago, just after stepping into her role at OpenAI.
“I love this job. I love this team. It’s why I didn’t quit and took the lead at OpenAI during intensive cancer treatment,” Rauch wrote. a post on linkedin. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. At a certain point, you have to be honest about your limits. I’ve reached my limits.”
Simo said Rauch will return to a more narrow-scope role when her health allows and OpenAI will lead the search for her replacement.
“We have a strong leadership team focused on our biggest priorities: advancing frontier research, growing our global user base of nearly 1 billion users, and empowering enterprise use cases,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement. “We are well positioned to continue execution with consistency and momentum.”
Watch: AI and Rare Diseases with Fidji Simo, OpenAI CEO of Applications
