OpenAI Chief People Officer Julia Villagra Leaves Amid AI Talent Competition

OpenAI's chief people officer, Julia Villagra, is leaving the company to pursue her passion for using art, music, and storytelling to help people understand the transition to artificial general intelligence (AGI). Villagra joined OpenAI in February 2024 as head of human resources and was promoted to chief people officer in March 2025. Her departure comes amid an intense talent war in the AI industry, with competitors like Meta aggressively recruiting top AI talent, sometimes offering signing bonuses as high as $100 million. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the exit and noted Meta's efforts to poach employees, which OpenAI has countered with competitive offers. In the interim, OpenAI's chief strategy officer Jason Kwon will manage HR functions while CEO of applications Fidji Simo leads the search for Villagra's replacement. The company is also navigating expansion beyond ChatGPT and restructuring as a public benefit corporation following a major fundraising round.