OpenAI revenue chief Denise Dresser to step down; Dali Rajic named successor

OpenAI’s Chief Revenue Officer, Denise Dresser, is set to exit the company after less than a year of leading its revenue and go-to-market operations. The news comes days after the company’s long-serving Chief Operating Officer (COO) Brad Lightcap announced his exit, marking another high-profile exit from the AI startup. 

To fill the role, OpenAI has announced Dali Rajic, previously serving as president and chief operating officer of the cybersecurity company Wiz, as its new Chief Revenue Officer.

Must read: OpenAI longtime executive Brad Lightcap announces exit, teases next move

OpenAI CRO exits

In the company blog post, it was highlighted that Dresser plans to “pursue other opportunities.” During the transition, she is required to “work closely with the business team to support our customers.”

In a LinkedIn post, Dresser said, “The opportunity to work hands-on with the most transformative technology in the world has been nothing short of incredible. I am so proud of what we have accomplished and, even more, of how this team has shown up for our customers and one another.”

Denise Dresser joined OpenAI in December 2025, after spending more than 10 years as an executive at Salesforce. Her departure marks a significant move, as she brought strong enterprise-sales and business expertise to OpenAI. In addition to her responsibilities as CRO.  Dresser was given additional responsibilities after OpenAI said Brad Lightcap was moving into a new role focused on “special projects.”

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OpenAI’s senior exit wave: What could be the reason?

After the recent exit of OpenAI’s top executives, including CRO Denise Dresser, COO Brad Lightcap, Fidji Simo, head of AGI, and others in recent months, it has raised eyebrows over the company’s leadership stability and prompted questions about the reasons behind the growing executive turnover. 

The Information also previously reported concerns surrounding Sam Altman's management style, internal turf wars, burnout and compensation demands. However, the exodus does not appear to have a single trigger, as many leaders have cited personal reasons, health issues or plans to start new ventures. While many cited OpenAI’s broader restructuring, shifting product priorities and growing pressure to scale its enterprise business as the reason.

As of now, there is no evidence yet of an organised revolt or internal collapse at OpenAI. However, these exits come at a time when OpenAI is planning to make a major public market debut in the coming months.