Two personnel moves involving key AI organizations unfolded in Silicon Valley in early November. Cat Wu, who led Anthropic's Claude Code product, joined OpenAI the day after announcing her departure. Meta chief strategy officer Dave Wehner confirmed he is leaving to become chief financial officer of AI inference startup Fireworks.
Cat Wu: a next-day handoff from Anthropic to OpenAI
According to TMTPost, Cat Wu (Catherine Wu) previously ran Claude Code, an Anthropic product. On Nov 4 she announced she was leaving Anthropic; on Nov 5 OpenAI announced she had joined to lead product management on its core product team. Less than a day passed between her departure announcement and her start at the new company.
TMTPost described the move as a "lightning job change" and said top AI talent has begun jumping ship in clusters. The report also asked: "Why can't the big companies hold on to talent?" It did not disclose the specific reasons for Wu's departure or any further response from OpenAI.
TMTPost said in its report that "top talent in the AI world has started jumping ship in droves," and pressed the question of why big companies cannot retain them.
Dave Wehner: from Meta to Fireworks CFO
According to a Nov 7 report by The Information, Meta Platforms chief strategy officer Dave Wehner confirmed he is leaving the company on Friday to become chief financial officer of AI inference startup Fireworks. Wehner joined Facebook in 2012 as vice president of corporate finance and business planning, became CFO in 2014 and held that role for years afterward.
The report indicates Wehner long oversaw finance and strategy at Meta. His move to Fireworks as CFO means another veteran executive is heading to an AI startup. Fireworks is a startup in the AI inference space, and the appointment may reflect the company's need for financial and strategic planning.
Talent churn accelerates as big tech and startups escalate their contest
Both personnel threads point to the same trend: top AI talent and executives are moving faster. Cat Wu joined OpenAI the day after leaving Anthropic, while Dave Wehner moved from Meta to AI inference startup Fireworks as CFO. Both changes came in early November and involved several key AI organizations, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta and Fireworks.
| Person | Previous organization and role | New organization and role | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cat Wu | Anthropic, head of Claude Code | OpenAI, product management on the core product team | Announced departure Nov 4; joined Nov 5 |
| Dave Wehner | Meta Platforms, chief strategy officer | Fireworks, chief financial officer | Nov 7 report confirmed Friday departure |
Analysts say that as AI competition intensifies, the battle for talent is heating up both among leading companies and between big tech and startups. The reports, however, offered no further industry data or official comment from either company.
What to watch
It remains to be disclosed what Wu's specific responsibilities will be on OpenAI's core product team, what financial strategy Wehner will pursue at Fireworks, and whether Anthropic and Meta will make follow-up appointments. Neither the TMTPost nor The Information report mentioned any official statement from the companies involved on the talent moves.