Openai Secures Slack Chief To Lead Global Revenue Strategy

(MENAFN- The Arabian Post)

OpenAI has appointed Denise Dresser, the chief executive of Slack, as its first-ever chief revenue officer, a decisive move aimed at accelerating the artificial intelligence giant's commercial push and enterprise expansion. Dresser, a veteran of more than a decade at Salesforce and head of Slack since 2023, will oversee OpenAI's global revenue strategy, encompassing enterprise sales and customer success as the company navigates mounting competition and seeks sustainable profitability.

The hire places Dresser at the forefront of OpenAI's efforts to transform widespread AI adoption into robust business revenue. She will report directly to chief operating officer Brad Lightcap and is expected to begin in her new role imminently, taking the reins of initiatives designed to deepen the company's foothold in corporate markets while broadening strategic partnerships.

OpenAI's leadership underscored the significance of this appointment as part of a broader shift from a product-led growth model to one anchored in comprehensive enterprise engagement. The company, which has reported substantial revenue increases alongside rising infrastructure and operational expenses, is under pressure to demonstrate a clear path to profitability even as its tools, such as ChatGPT, remain widely used across sectors.

Dresser's strategy will centre on scaling OpenAI's presence within large organisations, aligning AI tools with core business processes, and enhancing customer success frameworks to ensure long-term commercial value. Her track record at Slack, including steering the company through its integration with Salesforce after the latter's $27.7 billion acquisition and championing workplace AI enhancements, has been cited as a key qualification for driving adoption of AI solutions at enterprise scale.

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“Denise has led that kind of shift before, and her experience will help us make AI useful, reliable and accessible for businesses everywhere,” said Fidji Simo, OpenAI's chief executive of applications, reflecting the organisation's ambition to integrate AI tools across industries and embed them into daily enterprise operations.

The departure of Dresser from Slack has triggered immediate executive reshuffling at the workplace collaboration platform, with Rob Seaman, its chief product officer, stepping in as interim CEO. Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff confirmed her exit in communications to staff, acknowledging Dresser's contributions to Slack's positioning within the broader productivity software landscape.

At OpenAI, the addition of a chief revenue officer signals a clear elevation of the commercial agenda amid intensifying competition from technology rivals including Google and Anthropic. As companies allocate budget to digital transformation and AI integration, OpenAI's decision to recruit a high-profile enterprise executive reflects broader industry trends in which AI firms seek seasoned leadership to guide revenue growth beyond consumer-facing applications.

OpenAI's enterprise customer base has grown to include major global corporations, illustrating a shift in demand from pilot AI projects to full-scale operational deployment. The company's revenue, which grew significantly in the first half of 2025, underscores the urgency of converting adoption into recurring revenue streams that can sustain long-term investment in research and infrastructure.

Market analysts have interpreted the move as part of OpenAI's broader strategy to reassure investors and stakeholders that it can compete effectively in an AI landscape increasingly defined by commercial execution rather than solely by technological innovation. The cloud infrastructure costs and projected operating deficits facing AI firms make the monetisation of advanced artificial intelligence tools a central priority in boardrooms and strategy sessions alike.

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Dresser's tenure at Salesforce prior to Slack included leadership roles in global sales organisations, where she managed complex customer portfolios and helped drive significant revenue growth. Her experience aligns with OpenAI's current phase, which emphasises enterprise adoption as a core pillar of its business model and seeks to capitalise on demand for AI that can improve efficiency, decision-making and workflow automation across sectors.

Industry observers note that the appointment of a chief revenue officer reflects an evolution in how artificial intelligence companies position themselves commercially. As the sector matures, leaders with deep experience in scaling software businesses and driving customer-centric revenue growth are becoming essential to maintaining competitive advantage and delivering measurable financial returns.

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