Sarah Friar, born on December 24, 1972 (52) in Sion Mills, Northern Ireland, is the current Chief Executive Officer of OpenAI, a U.S.-based artificial intelligence organization. Before arriving at the AI developer, the Northern Irish executive served as CEO of Nextdoor and as Chief Financial Officer at Block, Inc.
With a long career path and an outstanding academic background, Friar also sits on the boards of other companies and serves on advisory councils in schools and laboratories. She holds triple nationality (American, British, and Irish) and was honored by Queen Elizabeth II with the Order of the British Empire, which recognizes achievements across diverse fields.
Academic background
From her secondary school years, Sarah Friar stood out with excellent grades. While in high school, she received a scholarship from a U.S. firm based in Chicago to gain professional experience in the financial world. She spent a year there before entering the University of Oxford, one of the world’s most prestigious institutions.
At Oxford she studied economics, management, and metallurgy, later completing an MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she earned the Arjay Miller Scholarship. She received this award for graduating with honors and high academic standing.
At age 20, after winning the scholarship, Friar traveled to Ghana to work at a gold mine under the supervision of Ashanti Goldfields. This early combination of studies, scholarships, and work experience enabled her entry into McKinsey, the global consulting firm. During her tenure, she worked as an analyst in South Africa and later in the United States.
Goldman Sachs, Nextdoor, and Salesforce
Step by step, a phrase that defines Sarah Friar’s career, she advanced from McKinsey to become Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, the U.S. financial services institution. From early on, her focus was on building strong social and professional relationships.
She then followed her instincts and took on the role of Senior Vice President of Strategy and Finance, before moving to Square—now Block, Inc.—a technology company she described as one where “something was always breaking.” Despite the challenges, her focus on identifying objectives and addressing niche markets marked her managerial approach.
Between 2012 and 2018, Sarah helped lead Square until the opportunity arose to join Nextdoor, a platform focused on social networking and community development. It was a proposal she embraced, as she had previously expressed a desire to “work on something that impacts society.”
Nextdoor proved to be a crucial initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period of lockdowns across most countries that strengthened the value of community connections. “Our numbers were incredible,” she said at the time, highlighting the platform’s growth.
OpenAI
The artificial intelligence company founded in 2015 became the next chapter in Friar’s professional journey. Her move to OpenAI was unsurprising, as Nextdoor had already integrated AI tools to improve user interactions. In 2024, she announced her departure from Nextdoor and took on the CEO role at OpenAI.
In interviews, Sarah expressed her excitement about entering a new “technological perspective,” noting that she was now leading a company of high global impact. She described it as “a fascinating moment to be doing what I do,” emphasizing the transformative nature of artificial intelligence.
Friar also underlined that AI is essential for companies today so they “do not fall behind” amid the pace of technological acceleration. OpenAI gained global recognition through the launch of ChatGPT, a product whose release was celebrated internally as a major milestone.
Analysis and outlook
Sarah Friar’s journey illustrates her consistent rise through leadership roles, culminating in her appointment at OpenAI, a pioneer in a relatively new form of intelligence that has reshaped how people and businesses interact with technology.
Her defining trait has always been the courage to trust her instincts, which guided a career dedicated to service, community development, and innovation—without losing sight of her values.