OpenAI hires Indian-origin executive Arvind KC as Chief People Officer

Arvind KC, chief people officer, OpenAI

• Arvind KC named Chief People Officer at OpenAI
• He was previously chief people and systems officer at Roblox
• OpenAI prepares for a potential public listing later this year

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OpenAI has hired Indian-origin executive Arvind KC as its new Chief People Officer to help the ChatGPT maker grow and adapt as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes how work gets done.

Arvind joins a bevy of Indian-origin leaders at the AI research and deployment company that includes CTO of Applications Vijaye Raji, CTO of B2B Applications Srinivas Narayanan, and Chief Economist Ronnie Chatterji.

He takes over from Julia Villagra, who departed in August 2025 after a short stint of less than six months.

Where was Arvind KC working before joining OpenAI?

Prior to joining OpenAI, Arvind was serving as the chief people and systems officer at Roblox, the online gaming platform. He has also held senior roles at Google, Palantir Technologies, and Meta, helping build both products and the organisations behind them at scale.

“We believe the way we scale OpenAI should reflect the future we’re helping to create. (Arvind) KC will play a key role in ensuring our people processes, policies, and systems match our ambition, while preserving the culture and operating principles that have helped us get here,” said Fidji Simo, CEO of Applications, OpenAI, in a statement.

Read: Incredible small language AI models emerging at low costs in India: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

What will Arvind KC do at OpenAI?

OpenAI stated that Arvind will help the company grow in a way that supports the people doing the work, from the foundations of hiring, onboarding, and development, to the systems and policies that make it easier to collaborate, move quickly, and sustain high performance.

This includes how roles evolve, how new skills are developed, and how education and re-skilling can keep pace with technological change, the company added.

“This is a moment where every organization is being asked to rethink how work happens, what teams need, how people grow, and how to adapt as the tools change. I'm excited to join OpenAI as we work through those questions ourselves, and alongside our ecosystem of users, customers, and partners building the future with us,” Arvind KC said.

How important is India to OpenAI?

This hire comes as OpenAI prepares for a potential public listing later this year. The company is currently said to be finalising a funding round expected to exceed $100 billion.

India is one of the biggest market for OpenAI, with 100 million weekly ChatGPT users. Last week, the company announced it will open new offices in Bengaluru and Mumbai later this year to expand its presence in the country.

These will complement its existing presence in New Delhi, announced in August 2025 as the company’s first India office.

OpenAI is also partnering with Tata Group to develop local, AI-ready data center capacity designed for data residency, security, and long-term domestic capability as part of its global Stargate initiative.

Tata Group plans to deploy ChatGPT Enterprise across its employees over the next several years, starting with hundreds of thousands of TCS employees. TCS also intends to use OpenAI’s Codex to standardise AI-native software development across teams.