NextFin News - U.S. President Trump’s second term has coincided with a deepening rift at the summit of the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence startup. Since August 2025, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman has systematically excluded Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar from high-level financial strategy meetings, according to internal organizational charts and sources familiar with the matter. The move marks a significant demotion for Friar, who joined the company in mid-2024 with the pedigree of a seasoned public-market executive, only to find herself sidelined as the company navigates a complex transition toward a for-profit structure.
The shift in power became official when Friar, who previously reported directly to Altman, was moved under Fidji Simo, the former Instacart CEO who joined OpenAI in August 2025 as CEO of Applications. According to Business Insider, which reviewed the company’s internal hierarchy as of February 2026, Simo now oversees 13 direct reports, including Friar and the head of ChatGPT, Nick Turley. This structural layer places a buffer between the CFO and the Chief Executive at a time when OpenAI is burning billions of dollars on compute costs and infrastructure.
The friction between Altman and Friar appears rooted in a fundamental disagreement over the timing and necessity of an initial public offering. While Friar has publicly defended the company’s capital-intensive strategy, reports from The Information suggest she has privately advocated for a more disciplined path toward a public listing to provide liquidity for employees and early investors. Altman, conversely, has remained steadfast in his view that OpenAI is not ready for the scrutiny of public markets, preferring to rely on massive private funding rounds, including the record-breaking $6.6 billion raise in late 2024.
Friar’s background as the former CFO of Square and CEO of Nextdoor made her a "Wall Street darling" whose hiring was intended to signal maturity to institutional investors. Her exclusion from key meetings is viewed by some analysts as a sign that Altman is prioritizing rapid, unchecked scaling over the fiscal guardrails typically associated with a CFO of her stature. This dynamic is not unique to OpenAI; high-growth tech founders often clash with "adult in the room" executives when the pressure to professionalize meets the desire for absolute founder control.
However, the narrative of a "sidelined CFO" is not universally accepted as a sign of dysfunction. Some internal observers suggest the reorganization under Simo is a logical move to align financial oversight with the company’s primary revenue-generating business—the applications and consumer products. By placing Friar under Simo, OpenAI may be attempting to integrate financial planning more closely with product development rather than keeping it as a standalone corporate function. This perspective argues that the move is an operational refinement rather than a personal or professional snub.
The stakes for this internal maneuvering are exceptionally high. OpenAI’s valuation has soared past $150 billion, yet the company remains a non-profit-controlled entity in the midst of a multi-year pivot to a traditional for-profit model. If Friar’s influence continues to wane, it may heighten concerns among late-stage investors who looked to her as a guarantor of transparency. Without a strong, independent CFO at the table, the risk of "founder overreach" increases, particularly as Altman pursues ambitious global infrastructure projects that require unprecedented levels of capital.
The current arrangement leaves Friar in a precarious position. While she continues to represent the company at major industry events, such as the ASU+GSV Summit, her lack of direct access to Altman on core financial decisions suggests a narrowing of her mandate. As OpenAI prepares for its next phase of growth under the watchful eye of the Trump administration’s tech-friendly but unpredictable regulatory environment, the stability of its C-suite will be a primary metric for its long-term viability. For now, the power at OpenAI is increasingly concentrated in a tight circle around Altman, with the traditional role of the CFO appearing more as a supporting act than a lead performance.
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