OpenAI has hired Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its new chief revenue officer. The news was first reported by Wired and later confirmed by OpenAI in a company blog post.
Dresser’s new role follows more than 14 years at Salesforce, which is Slack’s parent company. During her time at Slack, she oversaw the introduction of several AI features into the platform.
At OpenAI, Dresser will be responsible for the company’s revenue strategy in enterprise and customer success. This is a pivotal role for the company as it navigates the challenging path toward profitability.
OpenAI’s CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo, commented on the hire in a statement. “We’re on a path to put AI tools into the hands of millions of workers, across every industry,” Simo said. “Denise has led that kind of shift before, and her experience will help us make AI useful, reliable, and accessible for businesses everywhere.”
Fidji Simo also joined OpenAI earlier this year, bringing her own record of high-profile leadership from her previous role as CEO of Instacart, a company that has since become a close partner of OpenAI.
With this move, Slack’s chief product officer, Rob Seaman, will become the interim CEO of Slack.