OpenAI just landed one of enterprise software's heaviest hitters. Slack CEO Denise Dresser is jumping ship to become the AI giant's new chief revenue officer, marking another major executive acquisition as the company doubles down on enterprise customers. The move signals OpenAI's serious push into business markets while highlighting the ongoing talent wars in AI.
OpenAI just pulled off one of the year's biggest executive coups, poaching Slack CEO Denise Dresser to lead its revenue operations. The news, first broken by Wired and confirmed by OpenAI's official announcement, represents a seismic shift in the enterprise AI landscape.
Dresser's departure from Salesforce-owned Slack after more than 14 years signals how seriously OpenAI is taking its enterprise ambitions. She's not just any CEO - she's the executive who oversaw Slack's integration of AI features and understands better than most how to sell complex software to large organizations.
"We're on a path to put AI tools into the hands of millions of workers, across every industry," Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of Applications, said in the announcement. "Denise has led that kind of shift before, and her experience will help us make AI useful, reliable, and accessible for businesses everywhere."
The timing couldn't be more critical for OpenAI. The company faces what Fortune described as a "rocky road ahead" in its quest for profitability. With massive infrastructure costs and growing competition from Google, Microsoft, and others, OpenAI needs someone who can turn its impressive technology into sustainable revenue streams.
Dresser's appointment as chief revenue officer puts her in charge of enterprise strategy and customer success - arguably the most important role at OpenAI right now outside of the C-suite. She'll be tasked with scaling OpenAI's business offerings while competing against established enterprise players who've been courting the same customers for years.
The hire also highlights OpenAI's executive shopping spree this year. Simo herself joined from Instacart, where she built deep partnerships with consumer brands. Now Instacart has become a close OpenAI partner, allowing users to order groceries directly through ChatGPT - exactly the kind of strategic relationship Dresser might forge in the enterprise space.
