Kate Rouch, who leads marketing at OpenAI, revealed she will be stepping away for three months as she battles invasive breast cancer.
She shared her news in a candid online post, explaining that she received the diagnosis just weeks after landing what she called her dream job. For five months Rouch has been enduring chemotherapy at UCSF while continuing to guide her team. She described this period as the most challenging her family has faced.
Gary Briggs will take over as interim marketing head during her absence. Briggs, who previously served as chief marketing officer at Meta, has worked alongside Rouch before.
Her prognosis remains positive, with doctors expecting a strong recovery. Rouch used her announcement to highlight a sobering reality: one in eight women in America will face invasive breast cancer, with forty-two thousand losing their lives to the disease each year. She urged women to prioritize health, drawing attention to rising rates in younger women and the life-saving value of routine exams.
Rouch joined OpenAI in December, having previously steered marketing at Coinbase and led brand strategy for major platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.
Debating the Future of Humans with AI
Elsewhere in the tech world, Sarah Franklin—who heads Lattice, the company founded by Jack Altman—spoke in London about a word she holds dear: balance.
Franklin’s software company, now valued at three billion, has begun weaving AI and automation into its products. She believes that trust and transparency should always take priority as technology advances. In her view, replacing people with AI might promise quick savings, but it does not guarantee happy customers.
She challenged leaders to consider who they design products for—AI systems or real people and the clients they serve. Franklin explained that true innovation happens when companies augment workers with AI instead of pushing them aside.
She emphasized that trust is a founder’s most valuable currency. No amount of efficiency, she argued, should come at the expense of it. Transparency with employees, and clear accountability for how AI makes decisions, are essential.
Franklin insists that companies keep AI focused on clear goals, always leaving a person in charge of its actions. Otherwise, she warns, people risk serving technology rather than the other way around.
Lattice has already launched its own AI assistant in the human resources department, giving employees helpful insights and support during meetings. Clients can also tailor their own digital assistants for their unique needs.
Franklin concluded that any company hoping to succeed in the AI era must put people above everything else. Those who recognize the irreplaceable worth of human connection will, she believes, ultimately pull ahead. Proud of our team at OpenAI and sharing target=blank, while a recent OpenAI considers acquiring Jony Ives AI hardware startup is making headlines in the industry.
