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OpenAI said Thursday that Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser is leaving her role less than a year after she joined the artificial intelligence lab, a startling exit for a company that's gearing up for what's expected to be a blockbuster IPO.
The company said Dresser is leaving "to pursue other opportunities," according to a release. OpenAI has hired Dali Rajic, who previously served as the president and chief operating officer of the cybersecurity company Wiz, to replace her.
"The opportunity to work hands-on with the most transformative technology in the world has been nothing short of incredible," Dresser wrote in a post on LinkedIn on Thursday. "I am so proud of what we have accomplished and, even more, of how this team has shown up for our customers and one another."
Dresser's departure marks the second senior exit at OpenAI in days. Longtime OpenAI executive Brad Lightcap announced his decision to leave the company on Tuesday, writing in a post on X that he is going to "start something new."
Lightcap had been at OpenAI for eight years and was a longtime friend and colleague of the company's CEO, Sam Altman. Dresser, by contrast, was hired in December after she spent more than a decade as an executive at Salesforce. Her exit poses a particular conundrum for OpenAI, in large part because she brought the company enterprise expertise that it sorely needed to take on its chief rival, Anthropic.
Dresser was also tapped to take over many of Lightcap's responsibilities in April, when OpenAI said Lightcap was transitioning to a new role focused on "special projects."
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In addition to Lightcap and Dresser, Fidji Simo, who had been OpenAI's product and business chief, announced last month she was stepping down from her role at the company to focus on recovery after a "severe exacerbation of a chronic illness." Three other OpenAI executives left the company in April.
The exits come during a crucial moment for OpenAI, as it readies for a potentially massive public market debut. The company confidentially filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, just days after Anthropic did the same.
OpenAI closed a funding round in March at a staggering $852 billion valuation, and it will face pressure to justify that figure to investors ahead of its IPO. The company has been racing to build out its enterprise business and win customers in the fiercely competitive market, which was one of Dresser's main priorities.
In January, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC that enterprise customers accounted for roughly 40% of OpenAI's business as of January, but that she expected that figure to grow to closer to 50% by the end of the year. Dresser told CNBC in April that OpenAI's enterprise business was "on track" to reach that goal.
Dresser will stay on at OpenAI for a brief period to "work closely with the business team to support our customers," OpenAI said. She wrote in her LinkedIn post that she has been working with OpenAI President Greg Brockman to ensure a "smooth transition."
"No one works harder than this team," Dresser wrote. "I'm deeply grateful to every one of you."
WATCH: OpenAI’s Denise Dresser discusses launch of new deployment company
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