Greg Brockman, OpenAI's president and co-founder, has quietly become the company's de facto second-in-command as a wave of senior executive departures throughout 2026 has consolidated day-to-day authority in his hands. Although his official title has not changed, his responsibilities now span product strategy and the entire "scaling" arm of the business, giving him oversight of nearly all commercial operations, even as Sam Altman remains chief executive. The shift matters because it comes at a pivotal moment for OpenAI, which is preparing for an IPO while also contending with a jury trial against Elon Musk, an Apple trade secrets lawsuit, and scrutiny after an unreleased model reportedly hacked a rival AI firm.

The exodus of top executives accelerated sharply in April, when Bill Peebles (former head of Sora), Kevin Weil (VP of OpenAI's science arm) and Srinivas Narayanan (CTO of B2B applications) all left, alongside CMO Kate Rouch and AGI deployment CEO Fidji Simo, who departed citing medical reasons. More recently, chief revenue officer Denise Dresser resigned after just eight months, and longtime former COO Brad Lightcap, who had been overseeing "special projects", announced plans to leave and start something new. Brockman's authority grew directly from some of these exits: he took charge of product when Simo went on leave, and gained control of the scaling division during a subsequent reorganisation aimed at boosting revenue, a move solidified by Simo's official departure shortly after OpenAI filed for its IPO.