--- title: "Lazy Sam Altman Hires New OpenAI “CEO” to Do All the Work for Him Without Having to Resign" description: "OpenAI has poached the CEO of Instacart for a fancy new job — but there's something weird going on with her job description. " date: "2025-05-09" modified: "2025-05-09" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/sam-altman-openai-applications-ceo" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "OpenAI" - "sam altman" - "Startups" - "superintelligence" - "the digest" --- # Lazy Sam Altman Hires New OpenAI “CEO” to Do All the Work for Him Without Having to Resign ![OpenAI has poached the CEO of Instacart for a fancy new job — but there's something weird going on with her job description. ]() *\Image: Chip Somodevilla via Getty / Futurism\* ## Shadow CEO OpenAI has poached the CEO of Instacart for a fancy new gig — but there's something weird going on with her job description. In a [statement](), CEO and cofounder Sam Altman announced that Fidji Simo, a former Facebook executive who [took over at Instacart]() in 2021 and became an OpenAI board member [almost exactly one year ago](), would be the company's first-ever "CEO of Applications." This announcement, which came just days after OpenAI was [forced to drop its plans to go for-profit]() amid erstwhile cofounder Elon Musk's [ongoing lawsuit]() against it. It also comes less than 18 months after the turbulent couple of days that saw Altman's ouster and rapid reinstatement around Thanksgiving of 2023 — a brief power shift that could potentially be informing what's going on now. ## Altman Alt Though the statement itself is somewhat murky about Simo's role reporting directly to Altman, [*Bloomberg* reports]() that her role as head of applications will alter the company's executive structure significantly, even as it frees the CEO up to focus more on strategy. C-suiters like chief operating officer Brad Lightcap, chief financial officer Sarah Friar, and chief product officer Kevin Weil, for instance, will now report to Simo instead of Altman. Altman, meanwhile, will remain CEO — though in a post on X, he seemed to suggest that he's taking something of a step back. "In this new configuration," he wrote, "I'll be able to increase my focus on research, compute, and safety." As tech reporter and [noted AI skeptic]() Ed Zitron noted on Bluesky, Altman's self-attested new job description makes it sound a lot like he's stepping down. "Okay so Fidji Simo, now the 'CEO of Applications at OpenAI,' will be the person that the CFO, COO and CPO report to," [Zitron posted](). "How is this not Sam Altman stepping back? What does a CEO do if it's not 'overseeing sales, marketing and finance'?" Indeed, in the company's statement, Altman alluded to Simo taking over OpenAI's "'traditional' company functions to scale as we enter a next phase of growth" — though he didn't outline what exact functions he meant. All told, it appears that Altman is calling the shots on this executive realignment — but with all the [power struggle drama at OpenAI](), it remains to be seen how long it will stay that way. **More on OpenAI:** [*OpenAI Forced to Abandon Plans to Become For-Profit*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()