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Bayo Ogunlesi, president of Global Infrastructure Partners, listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a strategic and policy discussion with CEOs at the State Department Library in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building April 11, 2017 in Washington, D.C.
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OpenAI said on Tuesday that Adebayo Ogunlesi, senior managing director of black rockwill join the startup’s board of directors, the latest announcement in the company’s move toward a for-profit structure.
Ogunlesi is a founding partner of Global Infrastructure Partners, an infrastructure investment firm that was acquired by BlackRock last year for $12 billion. Before helping start GIP in 2006, Ogunlesi spent 23 years at Credit Suisse.
“The rapid advancement and development of AI offers a unique opportunity to build a better future,” Ogunlesi said at OpenAI’s announcement on Tuesday. “As part of this, thoughtful strategies and investment in infrastructure will be key to unlocking the full potential of AI and delivering its benefits responsibly. I am excited to contribute to this effort and look forward to being part of the OpenAI Board” .
For OpenAI, Ogunlesi’s addition to its board of directors marks another step in its dramatic transformation into a for-profit company. The board has been almost completely revamped since late 2023, when CEO Sam Altman was appointed abruptly overthrown before being quickly reinstalled.
Former sales force Co-CEO Bret Taylor, who was president of Twitter before its purchase by Elon MuskHe became president of OpenAI after the Altman ordeal in November 2023. Larry Summers, former Treasury Secretary, joined at the same time. Last year, the board added several new faces including instacart CEO Fidji Simo and Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, former CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, now known as the Gates Foundation.
OpenAI, which was founded as a nonprofit in 2015, said in late December that create a public benefit corporation to oversee business operations, removing some of its nonprofit restrictions and allowing it to function more like a high-growth startup.
Last year, OpenAI was valued at $157 billion while continuing to roll out large updated language models and new tools after kick-starting the generative AI boom in late 2022.
The company said that by transforming into a Delaware PBC “with common stock,” it can conduct commercial operations while separately hiring staff for its nonprofit arm and allowing that wing to take on charitable activities in healthcare, education and science, OpenAI . he said in December.
Musk, one of the co-founders of OpenAI is suing to try to prevent OpenAI from becoming a for-profit business.
Ogunlesi’s other board positions include BlackRock, Topgolf Callaway Brands, Kosmos Energy Holdings and Terminal Investment Ltd.
—CNBC’s Hayden Field contributed to this report.
