OpenAI Hires Slack CEO as Chief Revenue Officer

OpenAI has poached one among enterprise software program’s most seasoned executives.Slack CEO Denise Dresser will be a part of the AI firm to run its fast-growing enterprise unit. Her rent comes as OpenAI seeks to show its runaway product ChatGPT right into a dependable enterprise, the corporate introduced on Tuesday. Dresser begins subsequent week and can report back to COO Brad Lightcap, OpenAI confirmed to ADWEEK.OpenAI’s rent occurs as the corporate enters its most financially turbulent stretch but. The startup generated roughly $4.3 billion in income within the first half of 2025, up 16% from all of 2024. Nonetheless, OpenAI burned $2.5 billion over the identical interval, largely from mannequin improvement and the hovering price of working ChatGPT, The Info reported in September.The spending is steepening. OpenAI is forecasting $74 billion in working losses subsequent yr, practically 75% of its projected income. OpenAI is predicted to burn cash at a charge greater than 14 occasions that of rival Anthropic, per The Wall Road Journal. In November, CEO Sam Altman disclosed that OpenAI is on the hook for as much as $1.4 trillion in commitments over eight years, prompting some traders and trade observers to query whether or not its enterprise mannequin can preserve tempo with its ambitions. Diversified revenueOpenAI executives have been signaling plans to diversify income past enterprise licensing, with early discussions round adverts, tiered subscriptions, and extra structured business packages.“We’re on a path to place AI instruments into the fingers of hundreds of thousands of staff, throughout each trade,” Fidji Simo, CEO of functions at OpenAI, stated within the weblog put up. “Denise has led that sort of shift earlier than, and her expertise will assist us make AI helpful, dependable, and accessible for companies all over the place.”Dresser served as Slack’s CEO for a bit over two years, previous to which she held a number of senior roles inside Salesforce’s enterprise gross sales group for greater than 14 years. She was elevated to the highest job at Slack after former CEO Lidiane Jones left to turn out to be Bumble’s CEO.Dresser additionally beforehand served on the board of administrators on the nonprofit Advert Council.Slack’s present chief product officer, Rob Seaman, will step in as interim CEO, the corporate confirmed to ADWEEK.