OpenAI Adds Nubank's Vélez and BNY's Vince to Its Boards

OpenAI has appointed David Vélez, founder, Chairman, and Global CEO of Nubank, and Robin Vince, Chairman and CEO of BNY, to the boards of both the OpenAI Foundation and OpenAI Group PBC. The announcement, made by the company, places two leaders of major global financial institutions directly into the governance structure of one of the world's most closely watched AI companies.

The move matters beyond boardroom mechanics. OpenAI's corporate structure — a nonprofit Foundation paired with a public benefit corporation, Group PBC — sits at the center of ongoing debates about how AI developers balance mission commitments with commercial scale. Who sits on those boards shapes how that balance is struck. Adding two executives who have led large institutions through technological and market upheaval signals OpenAI's priority as it serves more businesses and consumers worldwide.

Who the new directors are

Vélez is a Colombian entrepreneur, engineer, and banker. He founded Nubank in 2013 after experiencing firsthand the cost and complexity of traditional banking in Brazil. He built the company around a digital-first, customer-focused model designed to make financial services simpler, more transparent, and more accessible. Under his leadership, Nubank has grown into one of the world's largest digital financial services platforms, with more than 135 million customers, and has expanded access to banking for millions of people across Latin America — a region OpenAI's announcement describes as home to the largest digital bank on the continent.

Nubank is now pushing beyond Latin America. The company has secured conditional approval to establish a U.S. national bank and is expanding its footprint into the United States.

Before founding Nubank, Vélez was a partner at Sequo Capital predecessor firm Sequoia Capital, where he focused on Latin America. He also worked in investment banking and growth equity at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and General Atlantic. He and his wife, Mariel Reyes, lead VélezReyes+, a philanthropic platform focused on democratic governance, education, and other initiatives across Latin America.

Vince, for his part, leads an institution considerably older than the AI industry he will now help govern. BNY is a global financial services company with more than 240 years of history, which puts its expertise and platforms to work to help clients operate more efficiently and accelerate growth. Vince became CEO in 2022 and has led a broad re-imagination of the company since: simplifying its operating model, accelerating investment in AI and data, and strengthening a culture of innovation and execution.

His prior career spans 26 years at Goldman Sachs, where he was a partner and member of the Management Committee. His roles there included Chief Risk Officer, Treasurer, Head of Operations, COO of the EMEA region, and CEO of Goldman Sachs International Bank — a resume heavy on risk and operational governance, disciplines directly relevant to overseeing AI development and deployment. Vince serves on the boards of the Hospital for Special Surgery and the Perelman Performing Arts Center. He is a member of the Business Roundtable, the Business Council, the Partnership for New York City, the Financial Services Forum, and the International Advisory Board of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

What OpenAI says the appointments bring

According to OpenAI's announcement, Vélez and Vince bring complementary perspectives on how technology can reshape industries and drive economic growth. Both have led global institutions through significant technological and market change, the company said, pairing ambitious innovation with disciplined governance, resilience, and a focus on creating durable value for the people who use their services.

The company also pointed to their philanthropic credentials as relevant to the Foundation's work. Both have strong commitments to philanthropy and nonprofit leadership across healthcare, education, and the arts, plus decades of experience building institutions that expand access and economic opportunity — experience that maps onto OpenAI's stated mission of ensuring AI benefits everyone.

Bret Taylor, Chair of the OpenAI Foundation and OpenAI Group PBC Boards, framed the appointments in terms of global scale. "David and Robin are exceptional leaders who have used technology to reshape financial services and expand opportunity at global scale. Their experience will be invaluable as OpenAI serves more businesses and people around the world, working to ensure AI benefits everyone. We're delighted to welcome them to the boards," Taylor said.

Taylor, notably, holds the chair of both boards — the Foundation and the Group PBC — underscoring how the two entities are governed in tandem under the structure OpenAI announced.

The new directors' own words

Vélez emphasized trust and access in his statement. "Technology can be a powerful force for expanding access and opportunity when it is built around people's needs and grounded in trust. AI has the potential to help individuals, businesses, and entire economies do more, and I look forward to contributing to OpenAI's efforts to bring useful AI to everyone," he said.

Vince struck a similar note on capability, paired with governance. "AI can be the ultimate capacity creator, expanding what people and institutions are capable of. Realizing AI's promise requires creativity, strong governance, and responsible deployment, and I'm honored to join the boards to contribute to OpenAI's mission," he said.

Why the financial services angle matters

The backgrounds of both appointees point to a specific strategic interest: enterprise adoption and economic impact. Vélez built a business on using digital technology to reach customers that traditional institutions had failed to serve — hundreds of millions of them, in Nubank's case. Vince has spent the last several years steering a custody-and-servicing giant through its own AI and data investment push. Together they represent deep experience in deploying technology inside regulated, risk-sensitive financial institutions at global scale.

OpenAI's announcement does not specify which board committees or oversight areas the new directors will take on. What the announcement does make clear is the intended direction: strengthening governance as the company scales from a research lab into a provider serving businesses and people around the world, while the Foundation's charitable work — areas where both new directors have philanthropic track records — continues in parallel.

For a company whose governance structure is watched as closely as its model releases, the addition of two financial services chiefs with risk-management and mass-market credentials signals where OpenAI sees its next phase of growth: regulated industries, global markets, and institutions deciding how deeply to embed AI into their operations.