The war for AI talent shows no signs of slowing down, with companies making headlines every week with their latest high-profile hires. This includes the engineers they are poaching from each other and acquiring, but also senior management who can support them as they scale further.
Less than 10 days after Slack CEO Dennis Dresser became OpenAI’s chief revenue officer, he announced that former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will be joining Sam Altman’s company. Shortly after, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase separately appointed Osborn to lead an internal advisory board.
The announcement attracted particular attention in the United Kingdom, where commenters noted that Mr. Osborne joins a growing list of former British politicians who now work for major American technology companies.
If you’re not familiar with him or this trend, here’s what you need to know.
What was Osborne’s career like?
George Osborne, a former Conservative MP, was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016. This position is equivalent to that of another country’s finance minister or secretary of the treasury, and is currently held by Rachel Reeves.
Mr Osborne ultimately resigned from public life in 2017, after Prime Minister David Cameron resigned in the wake of the 2016 Brexit vote. He was editor of the Evening Standard from 2017 to 2020, alongside several other jobs, including a part-time advisory role at investment firm BlackRock.
During that time, he co-founded the VC firm 9yards Capital with his brother Theo and Theo’s brother-in-law David Fisher as co-founders and managing partners. Since then, several companies in 9yards’ portfolio have gone public, including Robinhood, Toast, and Coinbase.
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What is his new role at OpenAI?
Osborne announced on X that he would be joining OpenAI as Managing Director and Head of OpenAI. [C]We are based here in London and work in various countries. ” Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s chief international affairs officer, wrote on LinkedIn that he will help expand existing partnerships and build new ones.
Introduced in May 2025, OpenAI for Countries is an initiative in which AI companies are building in-country data center capacity and partnering with governments looking to localize ChatGPT for language and culture.
OpenAI for Countries is an extension of the Stargate project. The Stargate project is a $500 billion initiative in which OpenAI is currently working with Oracle and SoftBank to build five new data centers across the United States. But beyond infrastructure, the company’s stated goal is to “help countries around the world who want to build on democratic AI rails.”
As OpenAI approaches its 10th anniversary, it makes sense that the company would start hiring people who wouldn’t be turned away for wearing sports shoes at the Ritz. Osborne, an Oxford University graduate and son of a baronet, fits the bill, but his networks and influence are even more valuable, with a podcast called “Political Currency” with former Labor shadow chancellor Ed Balls highlighting his extensive political connections.
His track record and connections could be even more directly relevant to Coinbase, which he already advises and will now “take a more active role in supporting policymakers around the world,” Fariya Shirzad, the company’s chief policy officer, told Reuters.
Being on the right side of regulators is especially important for crypto exchanges like Coinbase, which strive to influence governments in the United States and abroad. But it’s also important for OpenAI, which is trying to help AI gain a foothold in government policy.
Lehane’s LinkedIn post said Osborne’s decision to take on the role “reflects a shared belief that AI is becoming critical infrastructure, and early decisions on how to build, manage, and deploy it will shape economics and geopolitics for years to come.”
Notable patterns
Mr Osborne’s recent role highlighted similarities with other prominent British politicians who quickly joined big US technology companies.
They include former UK deputy prime minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who was Meta’s head of policy for more than six years, and former prime minister Rishi Sunak, who recently held advisory roles at Microsoft and AI company Anthropic.
This trend raises different concerns depending on your point of view. Some critics worry that a sitting member of Congress like Mr. Sunak could defend the interests of American companies while serving in government. Some people object to the fact that former officials like Mr. Osborne used their government experience and connections to secure high-paying positions in the private sector.
The “revolving door” phenomenon between government and the private sector is not new. But the practice has come under particular scrutiny in Europe, especially when controversial foreign companies, whether tech companies or retailers like Shein, employ former government officials to circumvent regulations and influence policy.
On the flip side, it’s simply a matter of leveraging your skills and experience. In his bio on 9yards’ team page, the VC firm touts that “George has devised many of the regulations that have positioned the UK as a global fintech leader, including the Open Banking Regime and the FCA’s ‘Sandbox’.”
But others are more critical of Osborne’s career moves. They point to his controversial austerity policies as prime minister and point to his history of ethical concerns over the revolving door. For example, when he took up the position of editor of the Evening Standard in 2017, he initially failed to seek approval from the government’s ethics watchdog, resulting in his actions being criticized as “toothless”. His attitude at the time was: “Now that I’m 45, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life just being a former chancellor,” Osborne declared.
In any case, it is precisely that mentality of moving quickly from public service to a well-paid private role that makes his OpenAI and Coinbase appointments part of a broader pattern involving today’s ethics watchdogs.
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