Julia Villagra, OpenAI Chief People Officer, is set to leave the company at the end of this week, marking another high-profile exit from the artificial intelligence firm during a period of rapid growth and internal restructuring.
Julia’s departure was confirmed by OpenAI and first reported by Reuters.
She joined the company in February 2024 as Head of Human Resources and was promoted to Chief People Officer in March 2025.
Her exit comes at a time when OpenAI is navigating intense competition for AI talent, expanding its enterprise services, and undergoing a corporate transformation into a public benefit corporation.
A Career Rooted in People Strategy
Before joining OpenAI, Julia spent nearly 16 years at Hudson River Trading, where she led the people operations team.
Her move to OpenAI was part of a broader recruitment effort that saw the company attract several HR and recruiting professionals from the quant firm.
Julia quickly rose through the ranks, taking on the top HR role within a year of joining.
Her tenure at OpenAI coincided with a period of aggressive hiring and organizational expansion.
The company has been actively recruiting top AI researchers and engineers while fending off poaching attempts from competitors like Meta, which reportedly offered signing bonuses as high as $100 million.
Pursuing a New Passion: Art and AGI
Julia’s departure is not due to internal conflict or performance issues.
Instead, she has chosen to pursue a personal passion that emerged during her time at OpenAI.
She aims to use art, music, and storytelling to help people better understand the societal transition toward artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Julia shared a message with colleagues on Slack expressing her future plans.
She hopes to explore creative avenues that make artificial general intelligence (AGI) more accessible and relatable to the public.
AGI refers to a theoretical point where AI systems outperform humans across a wide range of tasks—a concept central to OpenAI’s mission and long-term vision.
OpenAI Interim Leadership and Succession Planning
OpenAI has announced that Jason Kwon, the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, will temporarily assume Villagra’s responsibilities.
Fidji Simo was recently appointed as CEO of Applications at OpenAI. A former Meta executive, she will lead the search for a new Chief People Officer.
This leadership transition comes amid broader executive changes at OpenAI.
Over the past year, OpenAI has experienced a wave of senior leadership changes.
Notable departures include Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, research head Bob McGrew, and co-founder Ilya Sutskever.
These exits reflect both the internal evolution of the company and the external pressures of a rapidly shifting AI landscape.
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