OpenAI Hires Dali Rajic as Chief Revenue Officer

OpenAI appointed Dali Rajic as its new Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) in mid-August, marking the fifth C-suite change within the past year and a critical step as the company targets a potential initial public offering (IPO) likely in 2027. Rajic, aged 53, joins OpenAI from Google-owned cybersecurity firm Wiz, where he served as President and COO. He replaces Denise Dresser, who held the CRO position for less than a year. Rajic has cultivated a reputation as a highly effective and disciplined leader in enterprise sales within the technology sector. His recruitment by OpenAI is considered a significant achievement, described as a "coup" by a source connected to OpenAI's rival, Anthropic. OpenAI has recently surpassed consumer revenue to generate more income from enterprises, achieving this milestone ahead of schedule, according to CNBC. The company is actively working to gain market share from Anthropic, which is reportedly planning its own IPO as early as September, potentially preceding OpenAI's public debut. Jyoti Bansal, who hired Rajic in 2012 to lead sales for the application performance management platform AppDynamics, noted Rajic's suitability for the role, stating, "If OpenAI is behind on enterprise, he is definitely the guy." Rajic was instrumental in pitching AppDynamics to investors for a potential IPO. AppDynamics was nearly acquired through an IPO in March 2017, but Cisco acquired the company for $3.7 billion the day before its planned market debut. Rajic remained with Cisco for two years as part of the acquisition agreement. In 2019, he transitioned to Zscaler, an enterprise cloud security company, where he served as President of Go-to-Market and CRO. In 2026, Rajic moved to Wiz, another enterprise cybersecurity company, which was subsequently acquired by Google for $32 billion, representing Google's largest acquisition to date. Rajic's extensive experience in cybersecurity is particularly relevant to OpenAI's strategic objectives. The company aims to substantially increase its revenue from the cybersecurity sector by marketing its AI models to businesses for hack prevention and other security applications. This strategic focus underscores OpenAI's ambition to leverage its AI capabilities across diverse enterprise markets.