Fidji Simo leaves OpenAI No. 2 post
Fidji Simo, OpenAI's second-ranking executive, stepped down July 9 citing a POTS relapse. Duties split among Brockman, Friar, and Kwon.
Fidji Simo stepped down from her role as CEO of Applications at OpenAI on July 9, 2026. She joined from Instacart in May 2025 as OpenAI’s second-ranking executive, with direct reports spanning operations, finance, and product — including Brad Lightcap (COO), Sarah Friar (CFO), and Kevin Weil (CPO). Her departure came after a relapse of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a chronic condition she was diagnosed with in 2019. She had been on medical leave since April.
Simo wrote in a staff note that her recovery was taking longer than anticipated. Altman responded publicly:
“I am really sad about this and very grateful for all Fidji has done for OpenAI…we all wish her the best for a speedy recovery.”
She will remain a part-time advisor.
Her responsibilities will be divided among Greg Brockman (returning from his own sabbatical), CFO Sarah Friar, and Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon.
What it means for you
The CEO of Applications role was created specifically to consolidate everything below the research function: business operations, product, and the enterprise sales motion. Splitting it three ways is a meaningful organizational change at a company pursuing a potential IPO and competing directly with Anthropic in the enterprise market.
Simo’s time at OpenAI overlapped with the launch of ChatGPT Work and the GPT-5.6 family. Whether Brockman, Friar, and Kwon can move at the same speed on those roadmaps together that she could alone is the question that matters for operators evaluating OpenAI’s enterprise reliability.