OpenAI Data Centre Chief Leaves Company

OpenAI has lost Chris Malone, its former head of data centres, adding another senior departure at a time when AI infrastructure has become central to the company’s growth plans. Malone left last week after joining in March 2025, following previous roles at Meta and Google.

The timing is significant. Malone joined shortly after the launch of Stargate, the large US data centre initiative involving OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, SoftBank and Microsoft. As demand for AI computing power grows, data centre strategy has become one of the most important leadership functions inside major AI companies.

OpenAI said it had recently reorganised its infrastructure organisation to support the scale and pace of its work. Under the new structure, Malone had stopped reporting directly to president Greg Brockman and began reporting to vice-president Sachin Katti, who took over leadership of the group. The company said it still has an experienced data centre team with clear leadership.

The departure adds to a wider pattern of executive turnover. More than a dozen senior figures have reportedly left OpenAI this year, including chief revenue officer Denise Dresser and long-serving chief operating officer Brad Lightcap. For any fast-growing company, leadership change is expected. For OpenAI, the concentration of exits is harder to separate from the pressure of scaling a business that now sits at the centre of the AI economy.

For C-suite leaders, the lesson is clear. AI strategy is no longer only about models, products or fundraising. It depends on the operational leadership needed to secure power, data centres, partnerships and delivery capacity. OpenAI’s challenge is not just to keep innovating, but to prove that its executive structure can hold steady while the infrastructure race accelerates.