OpenAI Hires Wiz’s Dali Rajic as CRO Amid Executive Shake-Up and IPO Uncertainty
OpenAI replaces revenue chief Denise Dresser with Wiz executive Dali Rajic amid leadership exits, missed targets and uncertainty over its potential IPO timing.
Summary
On August 13, 2026, OpenAI replaced chief revenue officer Denise Dresser after nine months with Dali Rajic, president and chief operating officer of Wiz, which Google acquired for $32 billion in 2026, its largest acquisition ever. OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman, who assumed a larger management role after Fidji Simo’s departure, announced Rajic’s appointment and credited Dresser with guiding the revenue organization through a formative period. He tasked Rajic with turning OpenAI’s lessons into repeatable execution as deployment changes. The move follows the past month’s departures of chief operating officer Brad Lightcap and Simo, OpenAI’s number two executive and CEO of AGI deployment.
OpenAI says its products have more than one billion weekly active users and serve two million businesses, but executives have acknowledged privately and publicly that some revenue goals remain unmet. The company confidentially filed with the SEC for a potential IPO, though timing is unknown. A $7 billion employee share tender this week provided equity liquidity and may indicate a delayed listing. Bloomberg News cited an OpenAI post calling for relentless focus on measurable business impact, but that language was absent from the published version. CEO Sam Altman has prioritized enterprise deployment in 2026 while cutting technology projects and experiments considered distractions.
Positives
- OpenAI’s products reach more than one billion weekly active users and two million businesses.
- Dali Rajic joins after serving as president and chief operating officer of Wiz, acquired by Google for $32 billion in 2026.
- OpenAI confidentially filed with the SEC for a potential initial public offering.
- A $7 billion tender offer this week let OpenAI employees convert some equity compensation into cash.
- Greg Brockman has taken a larger management role and assigned Rajic to build repeatable commercial execution.
Risks & concerns
- Denise Dresser was replaced as chief revenue officer after only nine months in the role.
- Brad Lightcap and Fidji Simo both left OpenAI during the past month, extending the executive shake-up.
- OpenAI executives have acknowledged that the company has not achieved all its revenue goals.
- The potential IPO has no stated date, while the $7 billion employee tender may suggest a delay.
- Language urging relentless focus on measurable business impact appeared in Bloomberg News coverage but was absent from OpenAI’s published post.