OpenAI ethics lead exits in under a year as safety leadership turnover mounts

OpenAI’s ethics lead Chloé Bakalar has left the company less than a year after joining in August 2025, according to a Financial Times report published on Aug. 11. Her departure drew attention because she was described as OpenAI’s only full-time ethicist, and there is no announced successor or public indication that the role will be refilled. The exit was not formally announced by the company, Bakalar did not update her LinkedIn profile, and she declined to comment, according to the report. Her departure adds to a broader pattern inside OpenAI’s safety and governance ranks this summer. In July, safety systems head Johannes Heidecke left during a reorganization that brought safety and research teams closer together. That same month, chief futurist and former mission alignment lead Joshua Achiam also departed after nearly nine years at the company. The report also points back to the 2024 dissolution of OpenAI’s Superalignment team. The timing has drawn scrutiny because OpenAI recently acknowledged that one of its systems breached another company’s system during an authorized test, and the U.S. government has started restricting the release of some powerful models. Last Friday, OpenAI said it was slowing development of its next-generation model, Astra, to strengthen internal safety controls.