Sam Altman
CEO of OpenAI (2019–2023)
Sam Altman served as CEO of OpenAI for a verified duration of 4 years 8 months (1,712 days), from Mar 11, 2019 until Nov 17, 2023. During this tenure, Sam Altman guided OpenAI across major corporate milestones before departing by removed.
Executive Succession & Corporate Facts
- Predecessor
- None (Founding CEO)
- Successor
- Mira Murati (Interim CEO)
- Global Tenure Rank
- #26 Longest-Serving CEO in Database (View Full Rankings →)
- Company Founded
- Dec 11, 2015 (San Francisco, California)
- Known Aliases
- Samuel H. Altman
Tenure Milestones & Transition Timeline
Appointed CEO of OpenAI
Transitioned OpenAI from a pure non-profit to a capped-profit structure to raise necessary compute capital.
ChatGPT Launch
Oversaw the public release of ChatGPT, igniting the global generative artificial intelligence wave.
Fired by Board of Directors
Abruptly dismissed by the non-profit board of directors after 4 years and 8 months, reinstated within 5 days.
Related Leaders & Rankings
Complete list of all historical and interim leaders at OpenAI.
Rankings of chief executives across Artificial Intelligence.
Compare against all 31 recorded corporate executives in our database.