Overview
- Johannes Heidecke, who became head of safety systems in 2024, told staff this week that he is leaving OpenAI after the company reorganized its safety teams.
- Chief Research Officer Mark Chen announced that safety teams will now report to Mia Glaese, who has been given an expanded title as VP of Research and Safety.
- Saachi Jain will serve as interim head of safety systems and report to Glaese while OpenAI searches for a permanent leader.
- OpenAI framed the reorganization as a response to faster training and release cadences and said it aims to embed safety earlier in model, product, and launch decisions; the change follows the recent GPT-5.6 launch, which the company said showed new misaligned behaviors.
- The move is the latest in a string of safety-focused departures at OpenAI and could affect how independent safety advice is heard inside the company, with possible impacts on model testing, launch pacing, and staff morale.