Larry Summers Is OpenAI’s Surprise Pick to Mend Fences

As Sam Altman looks to steer OpenAI through choppy waters following the turmoil of his ouster and return as chief executive, he will be working with an initial board of directors consisting of two new faces—and one holdover from the previous board that fired him. 

The two joiners are seasoned tech veteran Bret Taylor, who was formerly co-CEO of Salesforce and chairman of Twitter, and Larry Summers, the onetime Treasury secretary and Harvard University president whose appointment surprised some observers. Remaining on the board is Adam D’Angelo, a former Facebook executive and the founder of the question-and-answer website Quora, a potential sign that Altman may not have everything his own way after his dramatic reinstatement late Tuesday.

As Sam Altman looks to steer OpenAI through choppy waters following the turmoil of his ouster and return as chief executive, he will be working with an initial board of directors consisting of two new faces—and one holdover from the previous board that fired him. 

The two joiners are seasoned tech veteran Bret Taylor, who was formerly co-CEO of Salesforce and chairman of Twitter, and Larry Summers, the onetime Treasury secretary and Harvard University president whose appointment surprised some observers. Remaining on the board is Adam D’Angelo, a former Facebook executive and the founder of the question-and-answer website Quora, a potential sign that Altman may not have everything his own way after his dramatic reinstatement late Tuesday.