OpenAI has named Dali Rajic its new chief revenue officer, the company's fifth C-suite change in the past year and arguably its most consequential as the AI giant accelerates toward a likely 2027 IPO.
Rajic, 53, most recently served as president and COO at Wiz, the cybersecurity company Google acquired in 2026 for $32 billion — its largest acquisition to date. He replaces Denise Dresser, who held the CRO role for less than a year.
A proven enterprise closer
The hire is being read inside the industry as a statement of intent. One source with ties to Anthropic, OpenAI's chief rival, called the recruitment a 'coup.' The timing matters: OpenAI now generates more revenue from enterprise clients than from consumers, a milestone it hit earlier than planned, according to CNBC. Anthropic, meanwhile, is reportedly planning to IPO as soon as September, meaning it could reach the public markets before OpenAI.
Rajic's track record in enterprise sales is the reason OpenAI came calling. Jyoti Bansal, who hired Rajic in 2012 to lead sales at AppDynamics — the application performance management platform Bansal cofounded — put it plainly: 'If OpenAI is behind on enterprise, he is definitely the guy.'
Rajic rose to CRO at AppDynamics and was part of the team preparing the company for a potential IPO. That process came to an abrupt end in March 2017 when Cisco purchased AppDynamics for $3.7 billion the day before its planned market debut. After fulfilling a two-year commitment to Cisco, Rajic joined enterprise cloud security company Zscaler in 2019 as president of go-to-market and CRO, before moving to Wiz in 2024.
Cybersecurity as the next revenue frontier
Rajic's deep cybersecurity background aligns directly with one of OpenAI's most aggressive growth bets. The company is pitching businesses on using its models to prevent hacks and breaches through its flagship cybersecurity program, Daybreak, which expanded into multiple access tiers on August 10.
Four people who have worked with Rajic describe him as disciplined, blunt, and intellectual. He was born in Yugoslavia, in an area now part of Croatia, moved to Germany at age one, and came to the United States at 16. He completed his undergraduate degree at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and earned an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Unlike many Silicon Valley executives who cultivate public profiles, Rajic does not have an X account and is not drawn to public speaking. Those who know him say he prefers deep one-on-one conversations over working a room.
Turnover shadows the transition
Dresser's exit has already triggered additional departures. Kaylin Voss, OpenAI's VP of Americas, is leaving to return to Salesforce, according to The Information. Voss had joined OpenAI only five months earlier. Current and former employees within the commercial organization — which numbered roughly 1,200 people under Dresser — describe the pace of change as exhausting.
Rajic confirmed the accuracy of the details in this report but declined to comment further.
CEO Times take: OpenAI is making a calculated bet that enterprise revenue, not consumer subscriptions, will define its valuation story when it finally hits the public markets. Bringing in a battle-tested operator with a cybersecurity pedigree — right as Daybreak scales and Anthropic races toward its own IPO — signals that the company understands the game has shifted from research prestige to repeatable, high-margin B2B revenue. Capital rewards clear rules, and Rajic's entire career has been about building exactly that kind of commercial discipline. The market will be watching whether he can do it fast enough.
