Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon will take up Villagra’s duties temporarily as OpenAI searches for a replacement.
OpenAI’s chief people officer, Julia Villagra, is leaving the company, effective Friday, OpenAI confirmed to Reuters, vacating a key position amid intensifying talent war in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.
It isn’t clear where she is going, but her internal farewell message suggests she might be joining a competitor tech company.
In her Slack message, reported by Bloomberg, Villagra said she is departing to “pursue a passion she’s developed at OpenAI; using art, music, and storytelling to help people better understand the transition to AGI [artificial general intelligence].”
Villagra joined OpenAI as the head of human resources in February 2024, according to her LinkedIn profile.
OpenAI has started looking for a replacement, with Fidji Simo, the recently hired CEO of applications, leading the search, according to the Reuters report. Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon will be heading HR functions in the interim.
The development comes as top tech companies, including Google, Meta, Apple, and Elon Musk’s xAI, battle to lock in customers with top-notch AI offerings.
In recent months, Meta has aggressively poached top AI talent in Silicon Valley, launching a talent war in the industry.
Meta, which recently formed a Superintelligence team to spearhead AI development, has reportedly hired over 50 AI researchers and engineers from firms including OpenAI, Apple, and Google in recent months.
Earlier this week, reports emerged that Meta had put a freeze on hiring for its AI teams, with exceptions for senior external hires. The company is also restructuring its Superintelligence unit.
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