OpenAI loses a top data center exec, as stream of high-profile departures continues

OpenAI has lost yet another executive, and the timing of this one stands out in particular given this individual oversaw the execution of the company’s data center strategy.

Chris Malone, OpenAI’s former head of data centers, left the company last week, the Wall Street Journal has reported . Malone, who spent nearly five years at Meta and more than a decade at Google before that, joined OpenAI in March of last year, making his tenure relatively short.

Malone joined the company not long after the launch of the Stargate Project , a $500 million data center initiative championed by the Trump administration that has sought to develop data centers in the U.S. OpenAI, along with Oracle, Nvidia, SoftBank and Microsoft, is considered a key partner in the effort.

Why is Malone leaving? It’s isn’t entirely clear. With the AI infrastructure buildout frenzy in full swing across the industry, data center strategy has become one of the most closely watched roles at any AI lab, which makes turnover in that seat especially surprising.

In a statement to TechCrunch about Malone’s departure, OpenAI said it had “recently reorganized” its “infrastructure organization to support the scale and pace of our work.” It added: “We have a strong, deeply experienced data center team in place, with clear leadership and the technical expertise to execute our plans.”

As part of that reorganization, per the WSJ, Malone stopped reporting directly to OpenAI President Greg Brockman and began reporting to OpenAI Vice President Sachin Katti, who took over leadership of the group.

Several other executives are said to be currently overseeing OpenAI’s data center strategy, including Uday Ruddarraju, who leads the company’s data center team; Brent Mayo, who leads the data center build and delivery program; and Spas Lazarov, a veteran of the data center and energy industries, who leads all data center engineering.

Whatever the reason for Malone’s departure, he isn’t alone. His exit adds to a string of more than a dozen executive departures this year. Business Insider recently tallied the total 2026 departure count at 13, with several leaving in just the last month. And these aren’t junior employees walking out the door — they’re some of the company’s most senior seats.

Two weeks ago, the company replaced its chief revenue officer, Denise Dresser, after Dresser had only been with the company for some eight months. Two days prior to Dresser’s announced departure, the company also lost Brad Lightcap , one of its longest-serving executives, who spent years as the company’s chief operating officer. Lightcap said he would be “starting something new” but hasn’t given details on what that new project entails.

Approximately a month before those departures, the company also lost Fidji Simo , the company’s de facto second-in-command (Simo served as product and business chief and reported directly to CEO Sam Altman). She stepped down from her position to recover from a “ chronic illness .” Simo remains with the company in an advisory role.

OpenAI’s safety and ethics teams have seen notable departures, too.