Sarah Friar

Also known as Sarah Jane Friar

Sarah Friar is the chief financial officer of OpenAI, where she oversees financial strategy and operations. Raised in Sion Mills, Northern Ireland, she studied metallurgy, economics and management at Oxford, worked for McKinsey and earned a Stanford MBA in 2000. After 11 years at Goldman Sachs and a stint as Salesforce’s senior vice president of finance and strategy, she became Square’s CFO in July 2012 and helped take the company public in 2015. As Nextdoor’s CEO from December 2018 to May 2024, she took the neighborhood network public in 2021 as its user base tripled. Since June 2024, she is OpenAI’s CFO; in March 2025 she said AI growth needed investment in data centers, power and the training of people, and in January 2026 she hired a new chief accounting officer.

Now at: OpenAI
Born: 1972
Badges: Bridge
Links: Website and LinkedIn

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

By 2000

Oxford engineering and Stanford MBA

Born in 1972, she grows up in Sion Mills, Northern Ireland, and earns an MEng in metallurgy, economics and management at Oxford. She works for McKinsey in London and South Africa, and with McKinsey's support she completes an MBA at Stanford GSB in 2000, graduating as an Arjay Miller scholar.
By 2012

Goldman Sachs and Salesforce

After her MBA in 2000, she joins Goldman Sachs and stays 11 years, working as an investment banker and research analyst before becoming business unit leader for tech. She then serves as Salesforce’s senior vice president of finance and strategy for a year and a half.
2012–2018

Square CFO and 2015 IPO

She joins Square as chief financial officer in July 2012 and holds the role until 2018. Under her leadership, the payments company launches its initial public offering in 2015 and adds $30 billion in market capitalization.
2013

Co-founding Ladies Who Launch

In 2013, she co-founds Ladies Who Launch, a mentoring program for female entrepreneurs.
2013–2021

Boards of New Relic and Slack

She serves on the board of New Relic from 2013 to 2018 and on the board of Slack Technologies from 2017 to 2021. She also sits on the boards of Walmart and Consensys.
December 2018–May 2024

Nextdoor CEO and 2021 listing

Nextdoor names her as its next CEO in October 2018, and she takes the job in December 2018. She takes the neighborhood network public in 2021 under the ticker NYSE:KIND, and its user base triples before she leaves in May 2024.
2018–2019

Honorary doctorate and an OBE

Ulster University awards her an honorary doctorate in 2018. In 2019, Queen Elizabeth II grants her an OBE for services to entrepreneurship.
Since June 2024

CFO at OpenAI

She joins OpenAI as CFO in June 2024 and oversees its financial strategy and operations. At Goldman Sachs’ Disruptive Tech Summit in London in March 2025, she says AI growth needs investment in data centers, power and the training of people. In January 2026, she hires Ajmere Dale as chief accounting officer and Cynthia Gaylor as business finance officer, corporate.