OpenAI reinstated CEO Sam Altman to its board of directors on Friday after an external review of the events that led to his firing and rehiring last November.
OpenAI’s board has “full confidence” in Altman and the company’s president Greg Brockman following an extensive review that included more than 30,000 documents and dozens of interviews with OpenAI leaders.
“We have unanimously concluded that Sam and Greg are the right leaders for OpenAI,” Bret Taylor, the chair of the OpenAI’s board, said in a March 8 statement.
Last November, Altman was abruptly ousted as CEO and accused of not being “consistently candid in his communications with the board.” Five days later, on Nov. 21, he was back at the helm after more than 500 employees threatened to quit in retaliation of the decision.
According to OpenAI, the review “found the prior board implemented its decision on an abridged timeframe, without advance notice to key stakeholders, and without a full inquiry or an opportunity for Mr. Altman to address the prior board’s concerns.” While the board “acted within its broad discretion to terminate Mr. Altman,” the review found that his conduct didn’t mandate removal.
In an X post on March 8, Altman said he “learned a lot” from the experience.
“When I believed a former board member was harming OpenAI through some of their actions, I should have handled that situation with more grace and care. I apologize for this, and I wish I had done it differently. I assume a genuine belief in the crucial importance of getting AGI [artificial general intelligence] right from everyone involved.”
In addition to reinstating Altman, OpenAI added three new members to its board: former Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann, former Sony executive Nicole Seligman, and Instacart CEO Fidji Simo.