Microsoft executive Dee Templeton joins OpenAI board

Microsoft executive Dee Templeton has joined OpenAI’s board as a non-voting observer as part of a broader boardroom revamp, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The ChatGPT maker had made headlines in November, when CEO Sam Altman was briefly ousted by the OpenAI board and reinstated days later after more than 700 employees threatened to quit and join backer Microsoft in solidarity.

After returning to his position, Altman said Microsoft would take a non-voting, observer position on OpenAI's board.

The observer position means Microsoft's representative can attend OpenAI's board meetings and access confidential information, but Microsoft does not have voting rights on matters including electing or choosing directors.

Templeton, a 25-year veteran at the tech giant, is currently vice president for Technology and research partnerships and operations for the company, according to her LinkedIn profile.

The report added that she has already begun attending OpenAI board meetings.

OpenAI and Microsoft did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Agreeing to partly reconstitute the board of directors that had dismissed Altman, OpenAI said Bret Taylor, formerly co-CEO of Salesforce, and Larry Summers, former US Treasury Secretary, along with Quora CEO and current director Adam D'Angelo, would be part of the board.