OpenAI Appoints New CRO Dali Rajic to Drive Enterprise Growth
OpenAI appoints Dali Rajic as its new Chief Revenue Officer. Learn how this leadership change signals a strategic push toward enterprise monetization and IPO.
TL;DR: OpenAI appointed Dali Rajic as Chief Revenue Officer to drive enterprise monetization ahead of its anticipated IPO. This strategic hire aims to scale the company’s two million business customers and one billion weekly active users for public market entry.
Key facts
- OpenAI appointed Dali Rajic as Chief Revenue Officer, replacing Denise Dresser who departed after less than nine months in the role.
- Rajic joins from Wiz, where he served as President and COO prior to its acquisition by Google for $32 billion.
- The leadership change follows a period of intense restructuring, including former COO Brad Lightcap’s departure on August 11, 2026.
- OpenAI reported over one billion weekly active users and more than two million businesses, with the customer base doubling in the past year.
- Sources indicate OpenAI has filed confidentially with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ahead of a potential IPO.
- Rajic brings experience from senior roles at Zscaler and AppDynamics, where he built metrics-driven global revenue organizations for large enterprises.
OpenAI Names Ex-Salesforce Executive Dali Rajic as New Chief Revenue Officer
OpenAI has appointed Dali Rajic as its new Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), marking a significant leadership change just weeks after the departure of another top executive. Rajic joins from Wiz, the cybersecurity firm acquired by Google for $32 billion, where he served as President and Chief Operating Officer [1][2]. He replaces Denise Dresser, who is leaving the company after less than nine months in the role [4][5].
The appointment was announced via a blog post by Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s President and Co-Founder, signaling a strategic pivot toward scaling commercial operations as the company prepares for potential public market entry [3][7]. Rajic brings extensive experience from previous senior roles at Zscaler and AppDynamics, positions where he built metrics-driven global revenue organizations for large enterprises [1][4].
A Leadership Shake-Up Continues
Rajic’s arrival follows a period of intense internal restructuring at OpenAI. Denise Dresser’s exit is the second major senior departure in less than two weeks, following the announcement by former COO Brad Lightcap on August 11, 2026 [4][5]. Additionally, Fidji Simo, the CEO of AGI deployment, recently left her operational role to take on an advisory position due to health reasons [5][7].
Dresser had joined OpenAI in December 2025 after spending over a decade as the CEO of Slack within Salesforce [4][6]. Her mandate was to strengthen enterprise adoption, and she reportedly helped expand the business customer count to approximately two million [1]. While Dresser will remain with OpenAI during a transition period to support customers and work with the business team, her departure highlights the rapid turnover at the company’s highest levels [3][4].
Scaling for an IPO?
The timing of Rajic’s appointment is widely viewed as preparation for an initial public offering (IPO). Sources indicate that OpenAI has filed confidentially with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ahead of this debut [5][6]. To support its go-to-market strategy, OpenAI has also formed a partnership with Chad Peets and RPT Partners to help structure its commercial organization [2][4].
OpenAI emphasized its rapid growth to contextualize the need for experienced revenue leadership. The company reported that its products now reach more than one billion weekly active users and over two million businesses, with its customer base doubling in the past year [1][2]. Rajic’s background in scaling enterprise sales at companies like Zscaler and Wiz positions him to manage this expansion as AI becomes embedded in business workflows [3].
Competition with Anthropic Intensifies
The shift toward a more aggressive commercial strategy comes amid intensifying competition from rival AI lab Anthropic for corporate clients [7]. While Dresser focused on establishing the enterprise foundation, Rajic is expected to focus on “repeatable execution” and maximizing revenue potential as the market matures [3][5].
Rajic stated in an interview that he looks forward to helping businesses realize the full value of AI through OpenAI’s products [6]. His appointment underscores OpenAI’s determination to maintain its leadership position not just in technological development, but also in monetization and enterprise integration as it moves closer to going public.
tags: openai, ai-news, enterprise-ai, ipo mentions:
- OpenAI
- Dali Rajic
- Denise Dresser
- Wiz
- Zscaler
- AppDynamics
- Greg Brockman
- Brad Lightcap
- Fidji Simo
- Slack
- Salesforce tags: openai, ai-news, enterprise-ai, ipo
Sources
- OpenAI appoints Dali Rajic as Chief Revenue Officer, Denise Dresser exits (www.storyboard18.com) — 2026-08-14
- OpenAI Names Dali Rajic Chief Revenue Officer As Business Customer Base Surpasses 2 Million (pulse2.com) — 2026-08-13
- OpenAI appoints Dali Rajic as CRO after second senior exit | Dealroom News (dealroom.co) — 2026-08-13
- OpenAI hires new CRO as executive shake-up continues | TechCrunch (techcrunch.com) — 2026-08-13
- OpenAI Names Dali Rajic as New Revenue Chief (autogpt.net) — 2026-08-13
- OpenAI shake-up continues with second major departure of the week (www.businessinsider.com) — 2026-08-13
- OpenAI recruits Wiz’s COO to lead its next phase of growth | CTech (www.calcalistech.com) — 2026-08-13