Artificial intelligence
10 OpenAI HR leaders
These ten current and former OpenAI HR leaders have held head, director, vice president and chief people officer roles at OpenAI in HR business partnering, people programs, employee relations, total rewards and benefits. A reader can learn how HR leaders work at OpenAI from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
01—10Amanda Zurmuhle
LinkedInExperience: Former Head of Global Benefits · OpenAI
Former Head of Global Benefits at OpenAI (December 2024–March 2026), based in New York; now Head of Global Leaves and Benefits at Asana since June 2026. Former Director, Global Benefits at GitLab (2024) and Braze (2023–2024), and Senior Manager, Global Benefits at Braze (2022–2023).
Bryan D.
LinkedInExperience: Head of People Programs · OpenAI
Head of People Programs at OpenAI since July 2025, based in San Francisco. Former Talent Programs role at Airbnb (2022–2025), Senior Planning & Execution Manager and Chief of Staff to Head of EX (2020–2023) and Planning & Execution Manager (2017–2020) at Airbnb, and People Strategy & Planning at Uber (2016–2017).
Diane Yoon
LinkedInExperience: Former VP of People · OpenAI
Former VP of People at OpenAI (January 2021–June 2024), after serving as HR Director (2019–2021) and Operations Manager (2018–2019) there, and also served as an Advisor to OpenAI (2024). Now Head of People on the founding team at Merge Labs since September 2025, based in San Francisco.
Hironori Shinozuka
LinkedInExperience: Head of HR, Japan · OpenAI
Head of HR, Japan at OpenAI since December 2025, tagged Head level in Human Resources, based in Tokyo. Former Principal HRBP (2021–2025), Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition (2017–2021), Manager, Talent Acquisition (2015–2017) and Manager, MBA/University Programs (2013–2015) at Amazon.
Joy Cashman
LinkedInExperience: Head of HR Business Partners · OpenAI
Head of HR Business Partners at OpenAI since October 2023, tagged Head level in Human Resources, based in San Francisco. Former Sr. HR Business Partner at Roblox (2023), and Director, HR Business Partner (2021–2023), Sr. Manager, HR Business Partner (2020–2021) and Lead HR Business Partner (2019–2020) at Twitter.
Julia Villagra
LinkedInExperience: Former Chief People Officer · OpenAI
Former Chief People Officer at OpenAI (June 2024–October 2025), after a brief period as VP of People there in 2024, and also served as an Advisor to OpenAI (2025–2026); the headline also names a former Head of People role at Hudson River Trading. Now a member of staff at Core Automation since April 2026, based in San Francisco.
Lily Bellow
LinkedInExperience: Former Head of People Strategy & Programs · OpenAI
Former Head of People Strategy & Programs at OpenAI (July 2024–October 2025), then HRBP, People Strategy & Coaching for Research there (2025–2026), where the highlight says Lily partnered with technical leadership in Research and World Simulation. Former Head of Communications at Hudson River Trading (2021–2024).
Lindsey Tran
LinkedInExperience: Former VP, Employee Relations, M&A Integration, GloMo, People Compliance, People Ops, Global Expansion · OpenAI
Former VP, Employee Relations, M&A Integration, GloMo, People Compliance, People Ops and Global Expansion at OpenAI (February 2025–September 2026), and Interim Head of People there (December 2025–April 2026). Former Head of Global Employee Relations and Investigations at OpenAI (2024–2025) and Block (2022–2024), and Director of Global Employee Relations at Twitter (2018–2022).
Michelle Nelson
LinkedInExperience: Former Vice President Total Rewards · OpenAI
Former Vice President Total Rewards at OpenAI (November 2024–November 2025), based in San Francisco; now Vice President Total Rewards at Atlassian since December 2025. Former Vice President Total Rewards at GitLab (2024), and Vice President Global Total Rewards (2022–2024) and Senior Director Global Compensation (2020–2022) at Twilio.
Sheila A. Khan-Variba
LinkedInExperience: Director Head of People Compliance & Standards · OpenAI
Director Head of People Compliance & Standards at OpenAI since May 2025, tagged Director level, based in San Francisco. Former Associate General Counsel, Labor & Employment at Meta (2019–2025), Senior Global Employment Counsel at Twitter (2018–2019) and Senior Counsel Director, Global Employment Law at Gap Inc. (2017–2018).
Choose the right perspective
Pick the person whose own title and area of HR are closest to the decision in front of you, rather than the most senior name on the list. Read the dates on each row to see whether the person holds that role now or held it earlier.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01What did you prioritize first when you took on your HR leadership role, and what would you change in hindsight?
- 02How did you decide which people programs to build first and which to leave for later?
- 03What signals told you that an HR process you owned needed to change?
Reaching OpenAI HR leaders
How can I contact one of these OpenAI HR leaders?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 1 company: OpenAI, based on profile data retrieved on October 15, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach OpenAI HR leaders?
You choose the offer, starting at $5 per person. The offer is what the person receives, and Instant Expert's fee is added on top, so a $100 offer costs you $125. The fee is 20% of what you pay. You're charged only when the person books the call or sends the answer.
What if they don't reply?
You pay nothing. Instant Expert sends follow-up reminders, and if the person hasn't booked or answered within 7 days, the request expires and any hold on your card is released. You can invite several of the 10 people on this list at once and cap your total spend, so you pay only for the ones who accept.
Can an AI agent ask one of these OpenAI HR leaders a question?
Yes. An agent with a USDC wallet on Base can ask one question without an Instant Expert account. It names the person, for example by the LinkedIn URL on this page, and pays per ask over x402 (HTTP 402). The person answers in writing or by voice note, and if nobody answers within 7 days, the payment goes back to the wallet automatically. x402 docs
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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