OpenAI Hires Slack CEO as Chief Revenue Officer

OpenAI has poached one of enterprise software’s most seasoned executives.

Slack CEO Denise Dresser will join the AI company to run its fast-growing enterprise unit. Her hire comes as OpenAI seeks to turn its runaway product ChatGPT into a reliable business, the company announced on Tuesday.

Dresser starts next week and will report to COO Brad Lightcap, OpenAI confirmed to ADWEEK.

OpenAI’s hire happens as the company enters its most financially turbulent stretch yet. The startup generated roughly $4.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025, up 16% from all of 2024. However, OpenAI burned $2.5 billion over the same period, largely from model development and the soaring cost of running ChatGPT, The Information reported in September.

The spending is steepening. OpenAI is forecasting $74 billion in operating losses by 2028, nearly 75% of its projected revenue. OpenAI is expected to burn money at a rate more than 14 times that of rival Anthropic, per The Wall Street Journal.

In November, CEO Sam Altman disclosed that OpenAI is on the hook for up to $1.4 trillion in commitments over eight years, prompting some investors and industry observers to question whether its business model can keep pace with its ambitions.

ChatGPT Android beta code reveals potential ad modules that could appear alongside search or shopping queries.

Diversified revenue

OpenAI executives have been signaling plans to diversify revenue beyond enterprise licensing, with early discussions around ads, tiered subscriptions, and more structured commercial packages.

“We’re on a path to put AI tools into the hands of millions of workers, across every industry,” Fidji Simo, CEO of applications at OpenAI, said in the blog post. “Denise has led that kind of shift before, and her experience will help us make AI useful, reliable, and accessible for businesses everywhere.”

Dresser served as Slack’s CEO for a little over two years, prior to which she held several senior roles inside Salesforce’s enterprise sales organization for more than 14 years. She was elevated to the top job at Slack after former CEO Lidiane Jones left to become Bumble’s CEO.

Dresser also previously served on the board of directors at the nonprofit Ad Council.

Slack’s current chief product officer, Rob Seaman, will step in as interim CEO, the company confirmed to ADWEEK.

ADWEEK reviewed a job listing showing OpenAI is hiring a Growth Paid Marketing Platform Engineer to build internal tools for campaign management, ad platform integration, and real-time attribution.