Right in the middle of the AI race, where major AI players (Meta, Google, xAI, Anthropic, and others) are competing for talent, OpenAI’s Chief People Officer steps down. Too much is going on for OpenAI right now. Elon Musk’s legal battle is one of the issues. The company plans to restructure itself to go public for a $40 billion fundraising (according to CNBC), which is another major development. And now this. Julia Villagra, the company’s chief people officer, exited the company on August 22, 2025. Her departure is raising questions about a power shift (internally) and more. Is this new high-profile exit a big blow to the company? Learn more details below.
Who is Julia Villagra?
Julia Villagra started her career as a Technical Recruiter in 2007. She worked for Tertulia for nearly 15 years. And less than a year after her promotion at OpenAI, she is now leaving the company. Here’s her timeline with OpenAI:
- Julia Villagra got started as Head of Human Resources at OpenAI in February 2024.
- Later in May 2024, she was promoted to VP of People.
- Soon, in June 2024, she became the Chief People Officer.
Why Is This Important to OpenAI?
The company is pushing harder to roll out enterprise (business-focused) AI products. And for that, OpenAI has to have the best talent on board. OpenAI is facing the heat from its rivals (Google, Meta, Anthropic, and xAI) to attract the top talent. This June, Sam Altman made headlines for revealing how Meta tried to lure its employees.
He said large incentives and salaries were offered, including a $100 million signing bonus just to join. He also mentioned the efforts OpenAI made to fight back (by making counteroffers) to retain its top talent. The situation remains a tug of war.
At a Time Open Plans to Go Public…
Plus, the company is on the verge of going public (Public Benefit Corporation), and significant restructuring is underway. It aims for a $40 billion fundraising round led by SoftBank. Losing a key member at such a critical moment is definitely a setback.
OpenAI Hiring From Rivals…
Recently, the company hired Fidji Simo, a former Meta executive and ex-CEO of Instacart. She announced her goodbye to Instacart a week ago on her LinkedIn. According to her profile, she is taking on a larger role in OpenAI’s consumer-facing products like ChatGPT.
Leave a Reply