Adebayo “Bayo” Ogunlesi of BlackRock is the latest addition to OpenAI’s board of directors. Ogunlesi possesses a formidable profile, as senior managing director at BlackRock and CEO of the Global Infrastructure Partners, a leading infrastructure investment platform.
OpenAI warmly greeted the new director, detailing his “exceptional track record of driving success” in their announcement. His experiences navigating complex commercial landscapes on a global scale are expected to deliver significant value as OpenAI continues to innovate in the AI space.
Ogunlesi, a lawyer turned financier, enjoyed a brilliant tenure at Credit Suisse, rising to the rank of executive vice chairman of its investment division. He held a position at New York’s Cravath, Swaine & Moore law firm, and was a clerk for the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall. His board experiences across Topgolf Callaway Brands, Kosmos Energy Holdings, and Terminal Investment Limited also add substantial gravitas to his profile.
Ogunlesi expressed excitement about harnessing AI for building a better future, emphasizing strategic investment in infrastructure to responsibly fulfill AI’s diverse potential.
OpenAI’s board, intending to better steer the company, underwent transformation following a 2023 event where then-CEO Sam Altman was removed and later reinstated. Today, the board is a “dream team” of leading figures from companies such as Quora, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the former NSA, Sony Corporation of America, Instacart, along with a prominent economist and a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist.
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