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OpenAI’s chief communications officer, Hannah Wong, is leaving the company in January after serving for 5 years. This period has been noted as the most crucial in the company’s history. This information was shared within the company on Monday, as reported by WIRED.
Wong joined OpenAI in 2021, when the organization was still best known as a research lab rather than a global consumer technology company. This news of her resignation comes at a time when OpenAI is under intense public scrutiny and experiencing rapid growth, thanks to products like ChatGPT.
In the last five years, Wong has become the key individual shaping public perception of OpenAI during its transition from a niche AI research organization to one of the most influential entities in the technology sector.
She played a major role in conveying OpenAI’s mission, products, and ultimate vision for artificial general intelligence (AGI) to the policymaking community, media, and general public.
Wong was eventually promoted to chief communication officer in August of 2024, and she then expanded OpenAI’s communications staff in line with its growing reach.
A joint statement by its CEO, Sam Altman, and its applications CEO, Fidji Simo, thanked Wong for his service and contribution to the project.
“Hannah has had a defining effect on how people think about OpenAI and our work,” they said. “She has this incredible gift for distilling complex ideas into clarity, and doing it carefully and gracefully. We are very thankful for her leadership and collaborative work over the past five years.”
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Wong is also known to have played a crucial role in a very challenging period in OpenAI’s history. The company saw a change in leadership with the removal of Sam Altman as the firm’s CEO, only to reinstate him a few days later. This incident has been internally known as ‘The Blip.’
According to a draft LinkedIn post shared with WIRED, Lindsey Held, OpenAI’s vice president of communications, will oversee the communications team on an interim basis. Chief marketing officer Kate Rouch is now leading the search for Wong’s replacement.
Reflecting on her time at OpenAI, Wong described the years as “intense and deeply formative.” She said she was grateful for the opportunity to help introduce ChatGPT and other products to the world, and to tell the story of the people working toward AGI.
Wong added that she plans to spend more time with her husband and children as she considers her next career move.
