# Ella – AI Talent Tracker: full lists

> Lists are editorial and compiled from the public sources cited for each person. Statuses describe public role changes, not availability or intent to change jobs. Free to quote and share with attribution: "Ella – AI Talent Tracker (https://ellafive.com)". Code: MIT.

JSON: https://ellafive.com/lists.json · About: https://ellafive.com/about

## AI Talent Tracker (https://ellafive.com)

Last updated October 20, 2026 at 9:50 PM PT (2026-10-20T21:50:00-07:00).

### Technical

Engineers and builders shaping how frontier AI systems are made and shipped. Page: https://ellafive.com/technical

1. **Thomas Dimson**: Member of Technical Staff, Sora, OpenAI (former)
   - Left OpenAI in May 2026. Co-built In the Weights in June; reported to be starting something new.
   - Sources: https://digg.com/tech/93mrk7k4, https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/20/in-the-weights-is-your-new-ai-centric-vanity-search/
2. **Sachin Katti**: Infrastructure and compute lead, OpenAI
   - Leaving OpenAI on November 15, 2026 to build something new; staying on as an advisor.
   - Sources: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/14/openais-sachin-katti-to-leave-infrastructure-role-stay-on-as-advisor.html, https://www.turingtree.com/updates/sachin-katti-announces-openai-departure
3. **Barret Zoph**: VP of Research, Google DeepMind
   - Joined Google DeepMind as VP of Research in August 2026, after a stint at OpenAI.
   - Sources: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/952837/barret-zoph-openai-thinking-machines-lab, https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/27/barret-zoph-the-thinking-machines-co-founder-who-defected-to-openai-is-now-at-google/
4. **Harsh Mehta**: Co-founder, Mirendil
   - Left Anthropic in December 2025; co-founded Mirendil, announced March 2026.
   - Sources: https://the-decoder.com/ex-anthropic-researchers-launch-ai-startup-mirendil-to-tackle-scientific-research/, https://linkedin.com/in/harsh-mehta-3bb0b88a
5. **Matthew Barnett**: Senior Staff Software Engineer, Google
   - Joined Google from Mechanize, which he co-founded, in August 2026.
   - Sources: https://www.turingtree.com/updates

### Design

Designers defining how people experience AI products. Page: https://ellafive.com/design

1. **Ian Silber**: Head of Product Design, OpenAI (former) (https://iansilber.com)
   - Wrapped up at OpenAI in September 2026; building something new.
   - Sources: https://www.benzinga.com/markets/private-markets/26/09/61908222/openai-loses-key-design-leader-after-shaping-chatgpt-and-codex, https://longbridge.com/en/news/299680796
2. **JSN**: Founding design lead, Visa agentic commerce, Visa (former) (https://jsn.io)
   - Most recently led product design for Visa's agentic commerce platform and Visa Crypto Labs; now building with agentic engineering.
   - Sources: https://jsn.io
3. **Benji Taylor**: Head of Design for X and SpaceXSI, SpaceX (https://benji.org)
   - Head of Design for X and SpaceXSI at SpaceX.
   - Sources: https://benji.org
4. **Gavin Nelson**: Member of Design Staff, OpenAI (https://nelson.co)
   - At OpenAI since February 2026, working on ChatGPT Voice, CarPlay and Dots.
   - Sources: https://nelson.co, https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gavin-nelson_excited-to-join-the-team-at-openai-activity-7423780860144951296-yNJw
5. **Evil Rabbit**: Founding Designer, Head of Design, Vercel (https://www.evilrabbit.com)
   - Founding designer at Vercel, 2016 to present.
   - Sources: https://www.evilrabbit.com

### Research

Researchers advancing what models can learn, reason about and do. Page: https://ellafive.com/research

1. **Aleksander Madry**: Former Head of Preparedness, OpenAI (former)
   - Left OpenAI in May 2026 to invest in and build projects on AI's economic impact.
   - Sources: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/935587/aleksander-madry-is-leaving-openai, https://www.turingtree.com/updates/aleksander-madry-leaves-openai
2. **Thore Graepel**: Founder, Metis Reasoning
   - Left Google DeepMind to launch Metis Reasoning, September 2026.
   - Sources: https://iascope.eu/en/article/2026-09-25-deepmind-graepel-metis-reasoning-depart/
3. **Danijar Hafner**: Co-founder, Embo
   - Co-founded Embo, a world-model agents company, in 2026. [unverified]
   - Sources: https://diyai.io/news/danijar-hafner-embo-ai-agents-plan-ahead/
4. **Oriol Vinyals**: Co-founder, Discovery Loop
   - Reported co-founder of Discovery Loop, 2026. [unverified]
   - Sources: https://the-decoder.com/ex-deepmind-vp-vinyals-says-ai-self-improvement-is-coming-but-wont-trigger-an-intelligence-explosion/
5. **Behnam Neyshabur**: Co-founder, Mirendil
   - Left Anthropic to start something new; Mirendil announced March 2026.
   - Sources: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bneyshabur_ive-left-anthropic-to-start-something-new-activity-7425774070152998912-WT_L, https://the-decoder.com/ex-anthropic-researchers-launch-ai-startup-mirendil-to-tackle-scientific-research/

### Product

Product leaders turning research into things people use every day. Page: https://ellafive.com/product

1. **Kevin Weil**: Former Chief Product Officer, OpenAI (former)
   - Left OpenAI; reported to be raising for a new AI-science startup, August 2026. [unverified]
   - Sources: https://www.businessinsider.com/weil-valuation-750-million-for-ai-science-startup-2026-8
2. **Fidji Simo**: Former CEO of Applications, OpenAI
   - Stepped back from her full-time role in July 2026; now a part-time advisor to OpenAI.
   - Sources: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/09/openai-exec-fidji-simo-says-she-will-step-down-and-transition-to-part-time-advisor.html
3. **Mike Krieger**: Co-lead, Labs (former CPO), Anthropic
   - Moved from Chief Product Officer to co-lead Anthropic's Labs incubator.
   - Sources: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/861475/anthropic-ai-c-suite-internal-incubator-labs-team-mike-krieger
4. **Ami Vora**: Head of Product, Anthropic
   - Head of Product at Anthropic.
   - Sources: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/861475/anthropic-ai-c-suite-internal-incubator-labs-team-mike-krieger
5. **Tom Vieira**: Former product lead, Base (former)
   - Led product at Base; spent the past year building the chamber music collective Run up the Sky.
   - Sources: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tom-vieira_after-a-couple-of-years-leading-product-at-activity-7498836332300034048-FJv1

### Growth

Growth and go-to-market leaders who brought AI to its first billion users. Page: https://ellafive.com/growth

1. **Alison Harmon**: Growth & GTM leader, OpenAI (former)
   - Wrapped up at OpenAI in May 2026 after nearly three years.
   - Sources: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alisonharmon_last-week-i-wrapped-up-my-time-at-openai-activity-7460373315061317632-ult2
2. **Kate Rouch**: Chief Marketing Officer, OpenAI (former)
   - Stepped down as OpenAI's Chief Marketing Officer in April 2026.
   - Sources: https://adage.com/executive-moves/aa-openai-cmo-kate-rouch-exits/, https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/03/openai-executive-shuffle-new-roles-coo-brad-lightcap-fidji-simo-kate-rouch/
3. **Brad Lightcap**: Former COO, then special projects, OpenAI (former)
   - Announced in August 2026 he is leaving OpenAI to start something new.
   - Sources: https://www.axios.com/2026/08/11/openai-executive-brad-lightcap-is-leaving, https://fortune.com/2026/08/11/openai-exec-brad-lightcap-leaving-start-something-new/
4. **Joshua Kim**: Growth Marketing lead, Cursor
   - Joined Cursor to build its growth marketing function in 2026.
   - Sources: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kimjoshua_excited-to-share-that-ive-joined-cursor-activity-7432473206571118592-0gDb
5. **Sarah Khogyani Wolf**: Startup Marketing Lead, Anthropic
   - Left Base in April 2026; now Startup Marketing Lead at Anthropic.
   - Sources: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahzorah