For an average Nigerian with limited knowledge about influential diasporans, Adebayo Ogunlesi became known in 2020 thanks to Burna Boy’s ode to his work ethic in “Wonderful,” a standout track from the Grammy-winning album Twice As Tall. However, to those familiar with Ogunlesi’s legacy, he has spent over two decades as a trailblazing African figure in global finance, infrastructure, and investment. On Tuesday, January 14, 2025, his influence reached a new height when he was officially appointed to OpenAI’s board.

With a presence in global settings like President Donald Trump’s economic advisory team in 2016 and the boards of international companies like Kosmos Energy Holdings, BlackRock, Terminal Investment Limited, and Topgolf Callaway Brands, Ogunlesi joins OpenAI’s board as the 10th member and only African. The Nigerian businessman currently serves as a Founding Partner, Chairman, and CEO of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a prominent global independent infrastructure fund manager, and as a Senior Managing Director at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager firm.

“Bayo has an exceptional track record of driving success in organisations with global reach, expertly navigating complex and dynamic commercial landscapes. We’re honoured to welcome him to the Board,” said Bret Taylor, Chair of OpenAI’s Board.

Bayo Ogunlesi has been an iconic African global figure from his early days. Off his secondary school education at King’s College in Lagos, the Ogun State-born billionaire would go on to earn a B.A. in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Oxford University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Before co-founding GIP in 2006, Ogunlesi had over twenty years of experience serving in several senior positions at the global investment bank Credit Suisse, as well as working as an attorney with the New York law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore. This rare convergence of expertise was undoubtedly instrumental in OpenAI’s decision to appoint him to its board.

OpenAI’s board primarily tasks itself with governing the not-for-profit parent organisation and overseeing the operations of the entire OpenAI structure. The mission of the board remains a continued effort to ensure that AI benefits all of humanity. This vision is demonstrated through widely used products like the AI chatbot ChatGPT, as well as other AI tools such as the coding system Codex, the image generator DALL-E 2, the transcription tool Whisper and a range of other innovative products.

The board’s current makeup is largely diverse — particularly in terms of their backgrounds — and contributes to the adoption of forward-thinking strategies to make artificial intelligence benefit all humanity.

Ogunlesi, for one, will bring his expertise in infrastructure investment, which will be key to unlocking AI’s full potential and delivering its benefits responsibly. Former NSA director Paul M. Nakasone, who joined in June 2024, lends his focus to the safety and security committee, which is responsible for making recommendations to the full Board on critical safety and security decisions for OpenAI projects and operations.

The board also features other prominent global figures across various industries like economist Larry Summers, former Sony Corporation of America President Nicole Seligman, Instacart CEO Fidji Simo, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Carnegie Mellon computer scientist Zico Kolter, OpenAI board chairman Bret Taylor, and CEO Sam Altman.