Head of Asia-Pacific, Global Affairs

About the Team:
OpenAI's mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity. Achieving this goal requires more than cutting-edge research—it demands deep, ongoing engagement with the policymakers, communities, and institutions shaping the future of AI.

The Global Affairs team leads this engagement. We cultivate authentic, collaborative relationships with public officials, regulators, multilateral bodies, civil society leaders, and the broader AI policymaking community to ensure that diverse perspectives inform our work. By bringing external insights into OpenAI and sharing our own learnings transparently, we help advance thoughtful regulation, responsible industry standards, and governance frameworks that promote the safe and beneficial development of AI technologies.

In close partnership with our research, product, and policy colleagues, we work across regions to anticipate emerging issues, craft forward-looking strategies, and champion policies that align technological progress with human values. Our mission is to help shape the global conversation on AI and ensure that the benefits of this transformative technology reach people everywhere.

About the Role

OpenAI is seeking a visionary and highly accomplished leader to serve as Head of Asia-Pacific, Global Affairs. In this role, you will lead a team of public policy professionals to drive OpenAI's policy engagements across the Asia-Pacific region. You will shape regional campaigns, partnerships, and high-level government engagement to advance OpenAI's mission while navigating complex regulatory environments. Reporting to the VP of Global Affairs and serving on the APAC regional leadership team, you will initiate cross-functional initiatives and act as a trusted advisor to OpenAI's global leadership. This role includes representing OpenAI at the highest political levels, shaping AI policy debates and outcomes, and partnering with governments on initiatives that align AI with democratic values. As Head of APAC, you will play a defining role in ensuring AI is deployed responsibly and inclusively, helping billions of people benefit from the Intelligence Age

In this role, you will:

• Campaigns and Partnerships

  Design and execute multi-country campaigns and flagship partnerships with governments, universities, industry, NGOs, and civil society across the Asia-Pacific region. Lead integrated coalition-building initiatives that unite regional organizing, data insights, product launches, and commercial objectives to accelerate responsible AI adoption and shape policy. Champion initiatives on education and economic opportunity that align with OpenAI's global mission and drive broad, inclusive AI adoption across APAC.

• Policy & Government Engagement

  Serve as OpenAI's senior leader for public policy and government engagement across the Asia-Pacific region and cultivate relationships with heads of state, ministers, regulators, and multilateral institutions. Anticipate and shape legislative and regulatory trends on frontier AI; advise OpenAI executives on political risk, policy positioning, and regulatory strategy. Partner with governments to advance OpenAI for Countries initiatives and deliver transformative compute and AI infrastructure projects.

• Strategy & Cross-Functional Collaboration

  Set and execute the Global Affairs strategy for the APAC region in alignment with global priorities. Work closely with cross functional partners including our research, engineering, product, legal, communications, finance, and commercial teams to ensure policy strategies are tightly integrated with technical roadmaps and business objectives.

• Leadership & Team Management

  Lead and develop a high-performing team of policy professionals across multiple countries, fostering a culture of creativity, inclusivity, resilience, and accountability. Invest in team growth and professional development while maintaining the highest ethical standards.

• Representation & Advocacy
  Represent OpenAI at high-level summits, conferences, and bilateral dialogues. Serve as a visible advocate for the societal benefits of AI, advancing democratic AI principles and ensuring OpenAI's voice is present in shaping the global conversation on AI.

• Are a seasoned leader at the intersection of technology and public policy, comfortable working in ambiguous and rapidly evolving environments.

• Inspire and develop diverse teams, empowering colleagues to excel while maintaining accountability and high ethical standards.

• Enjoy building coalitions and thrive both independently and as part of a high-performing, peer-led global team.

• Are a strong communicator and public advocate who can translate complex technical and policy concepts into compelling narratives for diverse audiences.

• Embrace cross-functional collaboration and can unify technical, legal, commercial, and operational stakeholders around a shared mission

• 15+ years of experience in government, international affairs, technology policy, corporate diplomacy, or a related field, including senior leadership roles.

• Established credibility and relationships with institutions and regulators, national governments, and other policymakers in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Proven ability to lead and execute high-stakes policy campaigns, shape legislation or regulation, and build partnerships across multiple countries.

• Demonstrated success managing and developing teams across diverse cultural contexts with a track record of investing in people and fostering professional growth.

• Deep knowledge of APAC political and regulatory ecosystems, with a strong grasp of AI-related issues such as safety, privacy, competition, and infrastructure.

• Exceptional judgment, integrity, and political instincts with a proven ability to build consensus across diverse stakeholders, advance bold ideas, and deliver results in fast-moving, dynamic environments.

• Outstanding communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills with a track record of influencing senior stakeholders.

• Experience working across functions (e.g., legal, research, communications, commercial) to develop coordinated strategies and deliver results.

This role can be based in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul or Sydney. We follow a hybrid work model of three days in the office each week and expect regular travel across APAC to meet key stakeholders.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. 

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

For additional information, please see OpenAI's Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.

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