OpenAI Hires Slack CEO as New Chief Revenue Officer

Slack CEO Denise Dresser is leaving the institution and joining OpenAI arsenic the company’s main gross officer, aggregate sources archer WIRED. Marc Benioff, the main enforcement of Salesforce, which owns Slack, shared quality of Dresser’s departure successful a connection to unit connected Monday evening.

At OpenAI, Dresser volition negociate the company’s endeavor unit, which has been increasing rapidly this year. She volition study to main operating serviceman Brad Lightcap. She starts adjacent week.

“We’re connected a way to enactment AI tools into the hands of millions of workers, crossed each industry,” said OpenAI CEO of Applications Fidji Simo successful a connection to WIRED. “Denise has led that benignant of displacement before, and her acquisition volition assistance america marque AI useful, reliable, and accessible for businesses everywhere.”

Dresser has been astatine Slack for 14 years, according to Benioff’s message. Prior to becoming CEO, she held a fig of enforcement roles successful Salesforce’s endeavor income unit. She was appointed CEO successful 2023, aft the erstwhile CEO, Lidiane Jones, departed for the main enforcement relation astatine Bumble. (Jones served arsenic Slack’s CEO for astir a year.)

The institution that yet became Slack was founded successful 2009. By 2014 it had go a fast-growing exertion for workplace chat and collaboration tools. In 2021, the institution was acquired by Salesforce for astir $28 billion. Much of the founding unit of Slack, including cofounders Stewart Butterfield and Cal Henderson, near wrong a fewer years of the acquisition. Over time, immoderate of Slack’s operations were absorbed into the larger operation of Salesforce, and determination were reports of civilization clashes betwixt the employees of the once-small startup and the endeavor behemoth.

Rob Seaman, Slack’s existent main merchandise officer, volition go interim CEO of Slack, according to 2 sources with nonstop cognition of the enforcement changes.

Representatives for Slack hadn’t responded to WIRED’s requests for remark astatine the clip of publication.

In Dresser’s tenure arsenic Slack’s CEO, she oversaw the rollout of respective ample standard AI features, including AI-generated gathering summaries and an integration with Salesforce’s AI agents. Earlier this year, erstwhile Elon Musk took connected a salient relation successful the US government, Dresser occasionally took to X to amusement support, saying she agreed that national employees should beryllium required to nonstop bullet-pointed emails astir what they’ve accomplished, and sending a “thumbs up” emoji to a station astir President Donald Trump signing an enforcement bid mandating national agencies to enactment with Musk’s DOGE.

Paresh Dave and Maxwell Zeff contributed to this report.