OpenAI's Data Center Chief Exits Amid 13+ Executive Departures Before Planned IPO

Chris Malone, OpenAI's head of data centers, departed the company last week, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding another notable name to a growing list of senior exits at the AI lab. Malone had only joined OpenAI in March of last year, making his stint at the company just over a year long despite previously holding roles spanning nearly five years at Meta and more than a decade at Google. His background made him a heavyweight hire, and his exit raises questions given OpenAI's current infrastructure ambitions.

Malone joined OpenAI not long after the announcement of the Stargate Project, a $500 billion data center initiative backed by the Trump administration that counts OpenAI alongside Oracle, Nvidia, SoftBank, and Microsoft as key partners. Overseeing how OpenAI builds and scales its physical computing infrastructure during one of the most competitive AI buildout periods in history was a high-stakes role. OpenAI told TechCrunch that it had 'recently reorganized' its infrastructure organization to better support the company's pace of growth, adding that it has 'a strong, deeply experienced data center team in place.' As part of that restructuring, Malone reportedly stopped reporting to president Greg Brockman and began reporting instead to VP Sachin Katti.

Several other executives now appear to be sharing responsibility over OpenAI's data center operations, including Uday Ruddarraju, who leads the data center team, Brent Mayo, who handles the build and delivery program, and Spas Lazarov, who runs all data center engineering. The reorganization may represent an intentional decentralization of the role rather than a single leadership failure, though the timing of Malone's departure clouds that narrative.

Malone's exit is not an isolated event. Business Insider tallied at least 13 senior-level departures from OpenAI so far in 2026. In just the last month, the company replaced chief revenue officer Denise Dresser after roughly eight months on the job and lost Brad Lightcap, one of OpenAI's longest-tenured executives who served as chief operating officer. Before those exits, product and business chief Fidji Simo stepped down from her operational role to address a chronic illness, while head of ethics Chloé Bakalar left in July.

The departures come at a sensitive moment. OpenAI's IPO, once expected to take place this year, has reportedly been pushed back to 2027, and the company is undergoing the kind of scrutiny that precedes any public listing. Questions about whether its valuation matches its actual profitability have surfaced in investor circles, and a steady stream of leadership departures does little to dampen those concerns. Co-founder Greg Brockman has argued that every departure at OpenAI gets 'scrutinized in a way that it doesn't otherwise' due to the company's profile, but critics and observers are unlikely to simply look the other way.