Instacart CEO Fiji Simo speaks in an interview on Bloomberg Studio 1.0 on Thursday, March 3, 2022 in San Francisco, California.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Fiji Simo, OpenAI’s head of product and business, on Friday announced several leadership changes and revealed that he will be taking extensive medical leave due to worsening neuroimmune disease.
OpenAI hired Simo in May, but she told staff in a Friday memo that her condition, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), had returned several weeks before she started. She said the past month had been “particularly challenging health-wise” and decided she needed a few weeks off to recover.
“Throughout my time here, I have postponed medical tests and new treatments in order to focus fully on work and not miss a single day of work,” Simo wrote in a memo seen by CNBC. “I took my first day off for a health check two weeks before my holiday, and it became clear that I had pushed myself a bit too hard and needed to try new interventions to stabilize my health.”
In an interview with CNBC in March, Simo said she was diagnosed with POTS in 2019 and saw more than 40 specialists to understand her condition. According to the Cleveland Clinic, people with POTS have difficulty keeping their blood pressure steady, which can lead to symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue, and chest pain. This condition can be difficult for health care providers to diagnose.
Simo joins OpenAI after serving as its CEO. instacartShe has held numerous corporate leadership roles for over 10 years. meta.
In Simo’s absence, OpenAI President Greg Brockman will oversee the product, she said. Simo also announced that OpenAI’s chief operating officer, Brad Lightcap, will be transitioning to a new role focused on “special projects.” He will report directly to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Dennis Dresser, the company’s chief revenue officer, will assume most of LightCap’s responsibilities and will report directly to Simo. Dresser will not oversee LightCap’s government or OpenAI for Countries efforts, which are now folded under the company’s strategic organization.
Additionally, Simo announced that Kate Ruesch, OpenAI’s head of marketing, has decided to step down to focus on cancer recovery. Rouch was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer about a year and a half ago, shortly after starting her role at OpenAI.
“I love this job. I love this team. That’s why I didn’t quit and did both. I worked as a leader at OpenAI while undergoing intense cancer treatment,” Rouch wrote in a LinkedIn post. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. At some point, you have to be honest about your limits. I’ve reached my limits.”
Simo said Ruesch plans to return to a more limited role when her health allows, and that 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 strengthening our enterprise use cases,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement. “We are well-positioned to continue executing with continuity and momentum.”
Watch: AI and Rare Disease Applications with OpenAI CEO Fiji Simo
