8 things to know about Ogunlesi, OpenAI’s new board member

OpenAI has just appointed Adebayo Ogunlesi, chief executive officer of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and senior managing director at BlackRock Inc., to its Board of Directors.

Ogunlesi has been appointed to advise OpenAI on securing access to the infrastructure necessary for advancing its artificial intelligence development.

Here are 8 things to know about Adebayo Ogunlesi

1. According to Forbes, Ogunlesi is worth $1.7 billion. In January last year, his net worth significantly boosted to $2.3 billion following the acquisition of his firm, Global Infrastructure Partners, by American institutional investment company BlackRock Inc. for $12.5 billion. Reports indicate that this deal solidified his billionaire status, as estimated by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with his 17.5 percent stake in the firm.

2. Ogunlesi’s new role at OpenAI has the power to connect global AI innovations with African markets, fostering technology-driven solutions tailored to the continent’s unique challenges.

3. Adebayo Ogunlesi, alongside Tope Awotona and Wemimo Abbey, was listed on ForbesBLK 50. ForbesBLK 50 is a reimagining of Forbes’ 2009 Wealthiest Black Americans list. He was recognised for his influence beyond business, as he has become a key figure in reshaping infrastructure investment on a global scale.

4. Ogunlesi completed his secondary education at King’s College, Lagos, and graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. He then received a Juris Doctor and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School in 1979.

Read also: OpenAI raises $6.6bn, seeks exclusivity with investors

5. Adebayo Ogunlesi is a globally recognised businessman and investor. Before the formation of GIP in 2006, Ogunlesi spent 23 years at Credit Suisse where he held several senior positions, including Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Client Officer of its Investment Banking Division.

From 2002 to 2004, he was Head of the Global Investment Banking Division and a Member of the Executive Board and Management Committee. Ogunlesi was an attorney with the New York law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He also served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Thurgood Marshall, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He has been a Lecturer at the Harvard and Yale Law Schools and the Yale School of Management, where he taught courses on transnational investment projects.

6. Ogunlesi is a member of the Boards of Directors of BlackRock, Topgolf Callaway Brands, Kosmos Energy Holdings, and Terminal Investment Limited. He was previously the Lead Director of Goldman Sachs Group. He is a Member of the Dean’s Advisory Boards of the Harvard Law and Business Schools and the Harvard University Global Advisory Council.

7. Ogunlesi hails from Sagamu in Ogun state born into the family of Theophilus O. Ogunlesi, the first Nigerian professor of medicine at the University of Ibadan. His father was the pioneer head of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, and the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, making significant contributions to the development of medical education, research, and practice in various areas, such as tropical medicine, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases before his passing last year at 99 years of age. Ogunlesi Jnr has been married to British-born optometrist Dr Amelia Quist-Ogunlesi since 1985. They have two children.

8. Under Ogunlesi’s guidance, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) acquired and managed critical infrastructure assets such as London’s Gatwick Airport, Edinburgh Airport, and the Port of Melbourne.