It's time for Sam Altman to pass on the torch

I saw this great take and it got me thinking:

• (A) Could @sama's position ever be not secure?

• (B) If he ever decides to leave, who would be the right CEO for him and for the company?

On the topic of (A) after what happened in 2023, my thinking is there is absolutely no way Sam is no longer CEO unless it's on his own terms. He cannot and will not be pushed out. Who leads OpenAI is completely up to Sam.

But on (B) I think there's a shot that he recognizes what he's good at and that to take the company to the next level and realize the full value of his equity, he needs to stand aside.

But he's not going to stand aside for just anyone. He needs that person to have a specific and special set of skills and experience:

1. Understands R&D-led companies with developer-led GTM, enterprise sales and API-driven business models

2. Well respected in startup ecosystem with connections to Y Combinator

3. Seen company growth from idea stage to thousands of employees

4. Driven a founder-led business to IPO and beyond

5. Successfully navigated complexity of dealing with multiple global stakeholders and investors

6. Comfortable with build/buy/partner approach to company building with a history of successful acquisitions and partnerships

Who is a person that has all of these characteristics and happens to available to jump into this multi-billion dollar company? Who could possibly be ready for all that OpenAI requires?

That person is Jeff Lawson (@jeffiel), former co-founder and CEO of @Twilio.

He fits every quality, characteristic and life experience necessary to lead OpenAI to its next stage. He's the person that should take on the role. Sam - you are so great at building companies and you need to stay at OpenAI to build. Carve out a President role and lead OpenAI's moonshot factory. The future is already here because of you so help lead OpenAI to what's next.