OpenAI adds the CEOs of Nubank and BNY to both of its boards

OpenAI has appointed Nubank founder David Vélez and BNY chief Robin Vince to the boards of both the OpenAI Foundation and OpenAI Group PBC. Their banking careers bring experience with growth, risk and trust as the AI company develops into a global institution.

Vélez and Vince each take a seat on both boards

The OpenAI Foundation announced the appointments on July 21, 2026. Vélez founded Nubank in 2013 and now serves as its chairman and global CEO. According to the announcement, the digital financial platform has more than 135 million customers and is preparing to enter the United States after receiving conditional regulatory approval.

Vince is chairman and CEO of BNY, a financial institution more than 240 years old. He has served as CEO since 2022. Before joining BNY, he spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs in roles that included chief risk officer, treasurer and COO of the EMEA region.

Digital banking growth meets the discipline of a 240 year institution

The choices combine two different schools of finance. Vélez built a consumer digital bank by routing around the cost and complexity of traditional branches. Vince runs an established institution whose value depends on operational resilience, risk controls and client trust.

That combination matters for OpenAI. The board of a company operating global products must oversee investment, operational risk and expansion. The Foundation board also guards a public benefit mission. Putting the same two people on both bodies may improve coordination, but it also concentrates responsibility in the same pair of eyes.

Banking résumés cannot resolve the tension between mission and capital

The announcement details both men’s careers and philanthropic work, but it does not specify their future committee assignments, precise powers or procedures for handling potential conflicts of interest. Experienced bankers can signal institutional maturity. They cannot substitute for transparent decisions.

Their perspective also comes from large financial institutions. That can help with risk and growth, but does not by itself strengthen representation for safety research, civil society or people affected by model deployment.

The first contested vote will reveal which role carries more weight

The appointments will matter when OpenAI discloses committee assignments, conflict policies and decisions where commercial expansion collides with the public benefit mission. Another useful signal will be whether the Foundation states measurable goals and explains how both boards are held accountable for delivering them.

Lilith's verdict

Vélez and Vince are entering a room where public benefit and capital are counted at the same time. Their value will become clear at the first vote where those two ledgers disagree.