After getting fired from OpenAI last year in November, Sam Altman regained his position as CEO within a few weeks. Now he has also regained his director of boards position in OpenAI.

An investigation was done by law firm WilmerHale to look out for what led to the sudden firing of Sam Altman from the CEO position and his removal from OpenAI’s board. The investigation was supported by a special committee of the OpenAI board.

WilmerHale’s Review and Findings 

WilmerHale conducted various interviews with OpenAI’s executives, OpenAI’s previous board members, advisors to the prior board, and other relevant witnesses. The firm reviewed a total of more than 30,000 documents and evaluated various corporate actions.

WilmerHale concluded that there were trust issues between Altman and the previous board, which led to the firing of Altman in November last year. It found out that the decision was not made out of concerns regarding product safety or security, the pace of development, OpenAI’s finances, or its statements to investors, customers, or business partners. 

The firm also found that the decisions were taken before any advance notice to key stakeholders and without conducting a full inquiry and giving Sam Altman the opportunity to address board concerns.

Following the investigation, the board expressed its full confidence in Sam Altman and Greg Brockman’s ongoing leadership of OpenAI.

“With knowledge of the review’s findings, the Special Committee expressed its full confidence in Mr. Altman and Mr. Brockman’s ongoing leadership of OpenAI.” OpenAI mentioned in their blog.

Enhancements to OpenAI’s governance structure

OpenAI also announced some of the new improvements to its governance structure, including new governance guidelines, strengthening the conflict of interest policy, a new anonymous reporting resource for all OpenAI employees and contractors, and the creation of new board committees to ensure the correct implementation and advancement of the core mission of OpenAI.

Conclusion

The review was essential to be completed because there were a lot of questions about OpenAI’s governance structure and internal matters. This created a bad image in the minds of users about OpenAI. With everything cleared and new governance guidelines in place, it is a big relief for OpenAI, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and all other OpenAI employees.

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