Chris Malone, OpenAI's head of data centers, departed the company last week, according to reports. Malone, who joined OpenAI in March of last year, previously worked at Meta for nearly five years and Google for over a decade.
OpenAI stated it has "recently reorganized" its "infrastructure organization to support the scale and pace of our work." As part of this reorganisation, Malone's reporting line shifted from OpenAI President Greg Brockman to Vice President Sachin Katti, who assumed leadership of the group.
Malone's departure is among more than a dozen executive exits from OpenAI this year. Business Insider recently reported 13 departures in 2026, with several occurring in the last month. These include the chief revenue officer, Denise Dresser, and former chief operating officer, Brad Lightcap, who both left recently. Other departures include Fidji Simo, the product and business chief, and leaders from the safety and ethics teams.