head of OpenAI Johannes Heidecke announced to staff this week that he was leaving the company, WIRED has learned. Heidecke’s departure follows a reorganization aimed at integrating OpenAI security and research teams.
In a memo to staff seen by WIRED, research director Marc Chen said OpenAI’s security teams will now report to the company’s VP of Research and Chief Alignment Officer, Mia Glaese, who will take on an expanded role as VP of Research and Security. Saachi Jain, who previously led security teams at OpenAI, will become the company’s interim head of security systems, reporting to Glaese.
“Security requirements continue to increase – we are training models at a much faster cadence and release cycles have decreased significantly as a result,” Chen said in the note. “As a result, we face security coordination challenges today more than ever. »
Heidecke joined OpenAI in 2021 as an AI Security Analyst. He took over as head of the company’s security systems in 2024, after the previous director, Lilian Weng, left to co-found Thinking Machines Lab with other OpenAI researchers.
“We are grateful for Johannes’ contributions to OpenAI,” Chen said in a statement to WIRED. “It is important that our safety work is integrated into the development of pioneering models, with an earlier and more direct role in shaping key model, product and launch decisions. We are excited about this next chapter under Mia Glaese’s leadership in the areas of research and safety.”
Heidecke’s departure comes as OpenAI attempts to launch increasingly capable AI models. Earlier this week, the company released GPT-5.6, its highest performing model yet for agent coding tasks. However, compared to previous models, OpenAI claims that GPT-5.6 showed regarding forms of misaligned behavior.
Heidecke is the latest security-focused leader to leave OpenAI in recent days. Earlier this week, OpenAI’s chief futurist Joshua Achiam also told colleagues that he would leave the company after nine years of security research.
It’s not just OpenAI’s security teams that are changing. Earlier this week, Fidji Simo, CEO of OpenAI’s AGI deployment, told staff she would withdraw from one’s role after extended medical leave. The company said Greg Brockman would continue lead OpenAI product teamswhich he had been tasked to do in his absence, but he would also take charge of the go-to-market strategy.
