Fidji Simo | |
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| Born | (1985-10-05)October 5, 1985 (age 40) Sète, France |
| Education | HEC Paris UCLA Anderson School of Management |
| Occupation | CEO of Applications atOpenAI |
| Board member of |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Fidji Simo (born 5 October 1985)[1] is a French-American[2] businesswoman and the CEO of applications atOpenAI.[3][4] Prior to OpenAI, she spent a decade atFacebook where she was one of the top executives as the head of Facebook, and was CEO ofInstacart from 2021 to 2025.[5] She co-founded the Metrodora Institute, a health clinic and research institute, and is president of the Metrodora Foundation. She is on the board of directors at Instacart andShopify and was previously on the board ofOpenAI prior to her employment there.[6][7]
Simo grew up inSète, in the south of France, and now lives in California.[1][8] She was the first member of her family to graduate from high school and holds a master of management degree fromHEC Paris.[1][8] She spent the last year of her program atUCLA's Anderson School of Business.[8]
Simo is married to a French engineer Remy Miralles, who became a chocolatier in San Francisco. She has a daughter.[9]
Simo worked ateBay from 2007 to 2011 as part of the strategy team.[1][8] While at eBay, she built out the company’s local commerce and classified-advertising initiatives.[1]
Prior to joiningInstacart, Simo was the Vice President and Head of Facebook.[8] Over the course of her decade at Facebook, she oversaw the development and strategy for Facebook, including News Feed, Stories, Groups, Video, Marketplace, Gaming, News, Dating, Ads and more. She also led the team in charge of architecting Facebook’s advertising business and monetizing mobile.[1] She made video a critical part of the Facebook experience, from rolling out videos that autoplay in News Feed, to building and launching Facebook Live and Facebook Watch.[1][8] Simo joined Facebook from eBay in 2011.
Simo joined Instacart’s board of directors in January 2021 and was appointed as the company’s CEO in July.[8][10] She started in the new role in August, replacingApoorva Mehta, who became the executive chairman of the board.[8][11]
In September 2023, Instacart appointed Simo to succeed Apoorva Mehta as the Board Chair following the company'sinitial public offering.[12]
Under Fidji's leadership, Instacart broke the longest tech IPO drought in the last 20 years, listing under the ticker symbol CART on Nasdaq in September 2023.[13]
Fidji announced on May 7, 2025 that as part of her transition to OpenAI she would be leaving the CEO role in several months but would remain as chair of the board.[14]
In October 2021, Simo co-founded the Metrodora Institute, a health clinic and research institute. Simo is now the President of the Metrodora Foundation.[15] The institute opened its doors in April 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah.[16]
The Institute “aims to accelerate cures for neuroimmune disorders by reimagining how patients are treated, and how they participate in research.”[17] The Institute has $35 million from an undisclosed venture investor.[17] The Institute both conducts research and treats patients. It has a particular interest in interdisciplinary work, breaking apart the silos of current medical practice.
The Metrodora Institute welcomes those suffering from diseases that many doctors fail to diagnose or do not know how to treat. Many of these diseases have a disproportionate impact on women.[18]
Simo was motivated to start this medical venture by her own three-year-long search for aPOTS diagnosis.[18]
The name of the institute is from ancient Greece: “Metrodora was a Greek physician who wrote a medical text, most likely titled “On Women's Diseases,” in the late fifth century C.E., which is thought to be the oldest surviving medical text by a woman.”[19]
In March 2024, Simo joinedOpenAI's board of directors.[20] On May 7, 2025, she announced she would leave Instacart to become OpenAI's first CEO of Applications, a role overseeing product, business, technology, engineering, and other company functions. She began the position in August 2025, reporting to founder and CEOSam Altman.[4] Simo remained Chair of Instacart's board through the end of 2025.[21]
Simo has led the expansion of OpenAI’s consumer products, including the January 2026 launch of ChatGPT Health, a service that connects users’ medical records and wellness apps to provide personalized health insights and support for clinical appointments.[22][23]
Simo co-foundedWomen in Product, a nonprofit organization for women in product management.[8][24] The organization works to advance the careers of women in technology and advocates for equal representation in the workplace.[8] Previously Simo was on the boards of theL.A. Dance Project andCirque du Soleil.[25][26]
In December 2021, Simo joinedShopify's board of directors.[27]
Fidji launched a new “Arts in the Age of AI” residency program in partnership with Villa Albertine in February 2025. The French Minister of Culture,Rachida Dati, announced the launch of the new residency program as part of the AI Action Summit’s Cultural Weekend. This initiative will host eight artists who incorporate artificial intelligence into their work in the United States over a period of two years.[28]
Fidji Simo, 33, strides into the room...
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