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Diane Yoon
VP of People at OpenAI
Diane Yoon is a prominent figure in the tech industry, currently serving as the Vice President of People at OpenAI, a position she has held since January 2021. She joined OpenAI in 2018 as an Operations Manager and has played a crucial role in shaping the company's human resources and organizational culture.123
Professional Background
Before her tenure at OpenAI, Diane Yoon held several key positions in various organizations:
- Head of Business Operations at Legalist Inc.
- Chief of Staff at Assembly, Inc.
- Director of Operations and Marketing at Nolan Heimann LLP.
- Corporate Paralegal / Business Development Analyst at Zuber Lawler & Del Duca.23
Her responsibilities at OpenAI encompass all aspects of human resources, including employee relations, performance management, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. She has been instrumental in fostering a positive work environment and attracting top talent to the company.124
Education
Diane Yoon earned her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), graduating in 2009.3
Recent Developments
In May 2024, Diane Yoon announced her departure from OpenAI amid significant leadership changes within the organization. Despite her resignation, she will continue to serve as an advisor to the company for the remainder of the year, reflecting her ongoing influence and commitment to OpenAI's mission.45 Her departure, alongside other high-profile resignations, has raised questions about the company's internal dynamics and future direction.46
Highlights
I was delighted to speak with Fast Company about what it’s been like to grow OpenAI into the magical company it is today.
If you’re inspired by our mission and want to contribute to the truly innovative work happening at OpenAI, please apply!
AI is a reflection of the people who build it.
Race and ethnicity, socioeconomic background, gender identity, disability status, age, marital status, parental status, country of origin — these factors shape how we see the world, help us understand our needs, and guide our communications.
At OpenAI, we believe that to achieve our mission — ensuring that powerful artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity — we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. Our investment in diversity, equity, and inclusion is ongoing, executed through a wide range of initiatives, and championed and supported by leadership. We’ve made good progress to date, but we’re not satisfied.
As the Head of People, one way I measure our performance is by tracking improvement across several key metrics, including the percentage of our team who come from historically excluded backgrounds, both companywide and in leadership positions.
Over the past 24 months we have shown improvement in those areas — nonwhite employees now represent 40% of the company, up from 24%, and the percent of employees representing underrepresented minority groups (Black, LatinX, Indigenous, Pacific Islander) has more than doubled. The percent of non-white managers has also more than doubled. We've committed dramatically more resources toward recruiting diverse talent and plan to continue doing so. We were also proud to have added several incredibly talented researchers to our team from the OpenAI Scholars program and the OpenAI Fellows program for people from underrepresented backgrounds in STEM and those with backgrounds outside of machine learning.
Our teams are growing. We want to hear from everyone qualified, especially researchers and engineers from underrepresented groups. These are our open roles.
