What Do We Know About OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar?

Try not to chase career success at the expense of true passion. Former consultant, investor, and chief financial officer, Sarah Friar is a multiple award-winning tech executive. Currently, she is OpenAI‘s chief financial officer.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar is also known as one of Silicon Valley’s darlings, Jack Dorsey‘s former right-hand woman, and much more. Most importantly, she is an intelligent, strong, and genius woman who is one of the top female executives in the tech world.

Friar has vast experience in top executive positions. She recently served as Nextdoor’s CEO and was previously CFO at Square. So, to learn more about her, read the article until the end.

Early Life And Education

Sarah was born on December 24, 1972, in Sion Mills, Northern Ireland. She spent most of her childhood in County Tyrone and completed her primary education at Strabane Grammar School.

After school, Friar applied to one of the top accounting firms, Arthur Andersen. There, she earned a scholarship that helped pay for her undergraduate studies at Oxford University.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar. Image Credit: Instagram.

Sarah then moved to the United Kingdom and studied metallurgy economics management or material science. Before graduating from Oxford in 1996, she also had the opportunity to visit Ghana and assist in a mining project.

Later, Friar went to South Africa as a business analyst at McKinsey, a management consulting company. However, she had to move frequently between Johannesburg and London until 1998.

Goldman and The Great Recession of 2008

Friar’s career is very impressive, but she has also experienced ups and downs during her career spanning over thirty years.

The Irish native moved to the United States in 1998 to pursue an MBA at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. It was there that she found out about Silicon Valley. Thus, she was motivated by the glory of that tech world.

In 2000, Sarah joined Goldman Sachs to work for a couple of years. But fate had different plans for her. She spent over ten years and led positions ranging from banking to equities to securities software.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar. Image Credit: Instagram.

At Goldman, she was an investment banker, a research analyst, and later a tech business unit leader. Everything was going well until the financial crisis in 2008-2009.

Goldman was dragged into controversy after being criticized for allegedly misleading its investors. Similarly, the whole world was about to end from an economic standpoint.

At the time, people around the world were depressed, and Sarah also couldn’t find a purpose in her work. In fact, it took her a few years to recover from the 2008 global recession.

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Helped Launched Two IPOs: Square and Nextdoor

With the help of her mentors, Sarah gained the courage to start all over. She realized joining an emerging company could be equally challenging and fruitful.

Friar then went to Salesforce, serving as its senior vice president of finance & strategy. After leaving the company in July 2012, she joined Square (now Block, Inc.) as its CFO.

The Stanford graduate helped Square launch its initial public offering in 2015, which added $30 billion to its market capitalization.

From December 2018 to May 2024, Sarah was CEO of Nextdoor, a company that operates social networking services for neighborhoods.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar. Image Credit: Instagram.

By December 2023, they had served about 85 million verified neighbors on the platform and 310,000 different communities across 11 countries. Friar helped take Nextdoor public in 2021.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar has been a co-launcher at ‘Ladies Who Launch’ for over 11 years since March 2013. She has also been a board member at Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, since June 2022.

Since 2021, Sarah has been a board member at Operation HOPE and Stanford Digital Economy Lab. Additional companies include ConsenSys and Walmart.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar: What is she currently engaged in?

After leaving Nextdoor as its CEO, Sarah joined Sam Altman‘s company in June 2024. Kevin Weil was also welcomed to OpenAI as its CPO.

Sarah has been appointed to lead a finance team supporting the company’s mission in developing AI-based innovations.

The team’s primary focus will be to invest in core research capabilities and ensure that these capabilities can scale to meet the needs of the growing customer base.

Friar will monitor and manage the company’s cash flow and create financial plans. She will also analyze the company’s financial strengths and weaknesses and recommend any necessary corrective actions.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar has significant experience as an executive officer and financial officer in different companies, so there are not many things to worry about; she would do her best for the organization and has good references to the work culture.

Similarly, you would like to read about 8 galvanizing women’s leadership at Oracle.

Sarah Frair Net Worth~$265 Million-$300 Million

Did you know that Sarah Friar has been named one of the top 100 executive women in tech to watch in 2024? So, one question arises. How much does she earn, and what are her primary income sources?

Friar has made huge amounts of money in her different tenures. For example, in 2018, she earned $250k as her starting salary as NextDoor’s CEO.

In 2021, Friar made over $20 million at NextDoor, earning $350k as a base salary and $19.7 million in stock options. The next year, she received $8.3 million in total compensation, of which $367k was salary, $75k was bonus, and $7.8 million was stock option.

Forbes estimated Sarah Friar’s net worth at $215 million in 2020 and $265 million in 2021. The information on her current fortune is not available. However, we believe her wealth must be somewhere above $270 million in 2024.

Friar’s Earnings From Walmart Is Stunning

As Walmart’s board member, Sarah makes a desirable amount of money. Let’s break down how much she has made since she sat on the board of directors member at Walmart.

2019: Sarah made $361k in total compensation, out of which she received $131k as fees earned. Similarly, she made $230k from stock awards.

2020: Friar made $293k in total compensation, out of which she received $118k as fees earned or paid in cash. In stocks, she received $175k.

2021: She made $294k in total compensation, out of which her fee was $119k. Meanwhile, her stock earnings were $174k.

2022: She made $294k in total compensation, out of which she earned $119k as fees. Her stock award was $175k.

2023: Sarah earned $320k in total compensation, out of which she received $119k as fees. Her stock’s earnings were $200k.

Husband and Children

Surprisingly, Sarah and her husband were college sweethearts. They met at Stanford and graduated in 2020; later, Sarah and David Riley got married. They are currently parents of two children, Mac Riley and Isabella Riley.

David is also known for being Managing Partner at Criterion Capital Management for 16 years and 7 months. He’s also a very well-qualified and characterized guy with multiple achievements and an amazing personality. Riley also was involved in Pivotal Asset Management for almost 2 years.

Sarah’s husband is currently a Managing Partner at Climb High Capital and has been involved for 5 years and 5 months since 2019. He has a Bachelor of Arts in economics and an MBA from well-known universities and colleges, such as Williams College and Stanford University.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar has a self-made score of 6 on Forbes. At the age of 51, she is a resident of Ross, California, and she has many self-made sources of wealth. She was on the 2021 America’s Self-Made Women list. Sarah’s the true example of “beauty with brain.”

FAQ’s 

Q: Where is Sarah Friar from?

A: Sarah Friar is a business executive from Sion Mills, Northern Ireland.

Q: When did Sarah Friar become CEO of Nextdoor?

A: From December 2018 to May 2024, Sarah was the chief executive officer of Nextdoor.

Q: Is Sarah Friar married?

A: Sarah Friar is married to David Riley and has two children.

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