Microsoft seems to have learnt its lesson from the fiasco at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. In November, ChatGPT board sacked the company’s CEO Sam Altman during a video call. The news shocked and surprised Microsoft, ChatGPT’s biggest investor, as everyone else. It’s a different story that two more days of corporate drama and Altman was back in the saddle at OpenAI.

The Sam Altman firing drama also proved how not having a person on board in a company Microsoft has invested billions in hurt the company. Seemingly, taking a cue, Microsoft Corp executive Dee Templeton has reportedly joined OpenAI’s board as a nonvoting observer. According to a report in Bloomberg, Templeton joined the board as part of a broader boardroom overhaul following the brief ouster of the startup’s CEO Altman. The Information too previously reported Templeton was one of the people in consideration for the board role.

Meet Microsoft’s nominee on OpenAI Board
According to Templeton’s LinkedIn profile, she has worked at Microsoft for more than 25 years and is the company’s vice president for technology and research partnerships and operations. She joined Microsoft in 1998 as its first female technical employee at the company’s New Zealand office. In her current role, she reports to Microsoft’s chief technology officer and leads a team managing some of the company’s technical partnerships, including its work with OpenAI.

She is reported to have already started attending board meetings, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private matters. OpenAI and Microsoft declined to comment.

After OpenAI’s board reinstated Altman as CEO, the company also agreed to give a nonvoting observer seat to Microsoft, its biggest investor. OpenAI’s current directors are Bret Taylor, the former co-CEO of Salesforce Inc.; Larry Summers, the former US Treasury secretary; and Adam D’Angelo, a holdover from the previous board and the CEO of question-and-answer site Quora Inc.

Altman previously said a new board will be selected “fairly quickly.” He did not specify how many people will eventually be part of the group, but said it will be “significantly enlarged” from the current number. OpenAI has faced some criticism for not having any women on the initial board.

Microsoft has committed to invest some $13 billion in OpenAI and integrated its products into its core businesses, quickly becoming the AI leader among big tech firms. But Microsoft, like other investors, was caught off guard by the OpenAI board’s decision to oust Altman.