Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Yes. On November 17, 2023, OpenAI’s nonprofit board removed Sam Altman as CEO, said he would leave its board, and appointed chief technology officer Mira Murati as interim CEO while it searched for a permanent successor. But the succession search did not produce a new permanent CEO: Altman returned on November 29, less than two weeks later.
What happened on November 17, 2023?
OpenAI announced that its board had concluded Altman was “not consistently candid” in his communications with directors, hindering their ability to carry out their responsibilities. The board said it no longer had confidence in his ability to lead the company. It did not identify a particular statement or incident in its announcement.
Altman left the CEO role and the board. Murati, then OpenAI’s chief technology officer, became interim CEO as the board began looking for a permanent successor. OpenAI said Murati had been part of its leadership team for five years and had worked closely with research, product, safety, governance, and policy. The appointment was explicitly interim, not a declaration that she had been chosen as Altman’s permanent replacement. OpenAI’s November 17 announcement also said Greg Brockman would step down as board chair but remain company president, reporting to the CEO.
Recommended Free Tools
Why could the board make such a consequential decision?
This was not a routine succession at a conventional startup. OpenAI began in 2015 as a nonprofit, with a stated mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits humanity. In 2019, it created a for-profit structure to raise capital while retaining nonprofit governance and mission oversight. The board involved in the 2023 decision was the board of OpenAI, Inc., the nonprofit parent.
#1 Best Overall
That structure gave the nonprofit board unusual authority over a commercially valuable AI business. Its November 17 statement framed the decision around its responsibility to preserve OpenAI’s mission and Charter. The episode exposed a difficult governance question: how should a mission-focused board oversee a fast-growing company whose products, commercial relationships, employees, and investors give its operating business substantial stakes of its own?
What did “not consistently candid” mean?
The board’s announcement gave a broad reason, not a detailed account of a specific offense. It said Altman’s communications with the board had not been consistently candid and that this impaired the board’s work. That wording should not be expanded into a claim that he committed fraud, violated a law, endangered users, or lied about a particular matter; the announcement did not make those claims.
Speculation at the time linked the dispute to disagreements over AI safety, strategy, pace, or commercial priorities. The original statement invoked OpenAI’s mission but did not say a safety breach or dangerous model prompted the removal. OpenAI later said an independent review by WilmerHale found a breakdown of trust between Altman and the former board. In OpenAI’s summary of the review, product safety, security, development pace, finances, and statements to investors, customers, or partners were not the cause of the firing. Those are the review’s reported findings, not proof that every disagreement or concern surrounding the episode disappeared.
How the leadership crisis unfolded
- November 17, 2023: The board removed Altman and appointed Murati interim CEO. Brockman lost the board chair role; the announcement said he would remain president.
- November 18–21: The crisis developed into negotiations over Altman’s possible return and OpenAI’s leadership. Murati’s interim tenure was brief; Emmett Shear, former Twitch CEO, was named interim CEO on November 19, according to contemporaneous reporting. Microsoft said on November 20 that Altman and Brockman would join a new advanced-AI research group if they did not return to OpenAI. These developments were part of a rapidly changing situation, not a settled permanent succession.
- November 21: OpenAI announced an agreement in principle for Altman to return under a reconstituted board.
- November 29: Altman formally returned as CEO. Murati resumed her CTO role and Brockman returned as president.
OpenAI’s November 29 announcement named Bret Taylor as board chair, with Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo as the other initial directors. Microsoft received a non-voting board observer role. The company also said it would commission an independent review of the events.
What the later review found
On March 8, 2024, OpenAI said WilmerHale had completed its review, examining more than 30,000 documents and conducting dozens of interviews. According to OpenAI’s summary, the review found that the former board acted within its broad discretion but that Altman’s conduct did not require his removal. It characterized the crisis as a breakdown of trust and communication between Altman and the prior board.
The distinction matters: the review did not say the board lacked the power to act, nor did it say every party handled the conflict well. It said the board could make the decision but did not need to remove Altman. OpenAI also announced governance changes, including updated guidelines, a stronger conflict-of-interest policy, a whistleblower hotline, and additional board committees. Altman rejoined the board, and Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Nicole Seligman, and Fidji Simo were added as directors.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the episode still matters
The November 2023 firing showed how governance can become a central business risk at a frontier-AI company. A nonprofit parent’s mission and oversight responsibilities sat above a commercial operation with major employee, customer, and investor interests. The board’s authority was real, but so were the consequences of a decision that rapidly unsettled leadership and prompted employees and outside partners to respond.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteFor readers following OpenAI as a business, the key lesson is not that one side’s public explanation settled every dispute. The board’s original announcement stated its rationale; the later review, commissioned by OpenAI and summarized by the company, supplied a broader account. Together they show a governance and trust breakdown, followed by a reversal and changes to board processes—not a documented product-safety incident that forced a CEO change.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
