Samantha Jacobson — VP, Partnerships at OpenAI

Samantha Jacobson, who served as Chief Strategy Officer at The Trade Desk, has departed to join OpenAI as Vice President of Partnerships. This move marks a significant transition for one of the most prominent strategic executives in the programmatic advertising space, bringing deep AdTech expertise into one of the most consequential AI companies in the world. Jacobson spent years at The Trade Desk helping shape its strategic direction, partnerships, and competitive positioning in the open internet advertising ecosystem.

This leadership change signals OpenAI's growing ambition to build out a formal partnerships and business development function, likely targeting media companies, publishers, advertising platforms, and data providers. Jacobson's background in programmatic advertising and platform strategy positions her to help OpenAI navigate commercial relationships with the AdTech ecosystem — potentially around AI-powered advertising tools, publisher licensing deals, or data partnerships. For The Trade Desk, losing a C-suite strategy executive is notable, though the company has a deep bench of leadership. More broadly, this move reflects a broader talent migration from established AdTech firms to AI-native companies, underscoring how generative AI is increasingly seen as the next frontier for advertising technology. It also suggests OpenAI may be preparing to more formally engage with the advertising industry, whether through direct ad products, API partnerships with DSPs and SSPs, or content licensing arrangements with media owners.