OpenAI Poaches AWS Titan Scott Rosecrans to Lead Enterprise Strategy

In a move that signals the intensifying battle for enterprise dominance, OpenAI has hired Scott Rosecrans, one of Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) most senior artificial intelligence leaders. As of Wednesday, January 14, 2026, Rosecrans has joined the ChatGPT creator as its new Vice President of Strategic Pursuits, tasking him with scaling OpenAI's rapidly expanding corporate footprint.

Rosecrans, who formerly served as AWS’s Vice President of AI Sales and Strategic Pursuits, is a seasoned cloud veteran who helped steer Amazon through its most explosive growth years. His departure follows the massive $38 billion infrastructure deal inked between AWS and OpenAI in late 2025, suggesting a deepening "talent and technology" symbiosis between the two giants.

The "Cloud Boom" Parallel
Upon joining OpenAI, Rosecrans drew a direct comparison between the current AI explosion and the early days of the cloud revolution.

History Repeating: "What is happening in AI right now is so similar to where cloud was when I joined AWS in 2016," Rosecrans stated. He noted that the industry is at a similar tipping point where a "nice-to-have" technology becomes the essential backbone of global business.

Growth Potential: Rosecrans emphasized that while the AI boom has been rapid, the "enterprise scale" phase is only just beginning. He aims to leverage his experience in global expansion to transition OpenAI from a "product" company to a "foundational infrastructure" partner for the world's largest corporations.

OpenAI’s Growing "Business Empire"
The hire highlights a "little-known fact" that Rosecrans was quick to point out: OpenAI is no longer just a consumer phenomenon.

1 Million Business Customers: OpenAI has officially surpassed 1 million paying business customers. This includes enterprise-grade users of ChatGPT Enterprise, Team, and API integrators.

Strategic Shift: Rosecrans will oversee "Strategic Pursuits," a role designed to land and expand "transformative customer relationships." This indicates OpenAI is moving away from self-service signups toward the high-touch, multi-year "megadeals" typical of traditional software giants like Salesforce or Oracle.

The "Amazon to OpenAI" Pipeline
Rosecrans is the latest in a string of high-profile "blue-badge" (Amazon) executives migrating to the AI startup:

Torben Severson: Hired in late 2025 as VP and Head of Global Business Development after 17 years at Amazon.

Denise Dresser: While most recently CEO of Slack, she was hired as OpenAI's Chief Revenue Officer in December 2025, bringing her experience in scaling Salesforce's enterprise sales.

"OpenAI is hiring the people who built the Cloud because they are now building what comes after the Cloud," said a tech recruitment analyst. "They aren't just selling a chatbot; they're selling the next era of computing."