OpenAI’s search for chief communications officer extends to nine months

Nine months. That’s how long OpenAI has been looking for someone to run its communications operation, a search that began when Hannah Wong stepped down in January 2026 and has quietly become one of the more conspicuous vacancies in tech. For a company with over one billion weekly active users and a communications team that has ballooned to more than 50 people, operating without a permanent chief communications officer is a notable gap. How the vacancy happened Wong joined OpenAI back in 2021, well before ChatGPT turned the company into a household name. She was promoted to CCO in August 2024, making her the first person to officially hold the title. During her tenure, she steered the comms team through a remarkable gauntlet: the ChatGPT launch, waves of regulatory scrutiny, and the now-infamous November 2023 leadership crisis that the company internally refers to as “the blip.” That crisis saw CEO Sam Altman briefly ousted by the board before being reinstated days later. She announced her departure in December 2025 via a LinkedIn post, citing a desire to spend more time with her family. Her last day was at the end of January 2026. Since then, the role has been covered on an interim...