OpenAI Quietly Snatches Coinbase Marketing Bosses in a Shocking Move

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OpenAI appears to be poaching Coinbase’s marketing teamFinance

What to know:

  • Several of the former Coinbase marketing execs also worked together at Meta.
  • OpenAI has also lured senior policy, product design and data science talent from Coinbase.

In this article

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It’s no surprise that there’s a general pivot from blockchain to artificial intelligence right now.

It seems like every week, we’re seeing companies and individuals either exit the cryptocurrency world or invest in artificial intelligence. Bitcoin miners are shifting their focus from creating cryptocurrency to building the infrastructure for AI, and investors are now more likely to fund AI startups than crypto businesses.

It’s rare to see an entire leadership team leave one company to join a competitor nearby. However, that’s what seems to have happened with Coinbase’s senior marketing team. Over the past year, they’ve moved to OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which is also based in San Francisco. Coinbase has a large office in the city, spanning 150,000 square feet.

Coinbase has a significant marketing team, and while six experienced leaders were affected, this represents a small fraction of the overall marketing staff.

The recent movement of marketing professionals started in November 2024 when Sarah Russell became VP of integrated marketing and operations at OpenAI. Before that, she spent a year and three months as senior director of integrated marketing at Coinbase, leaving that role in January 2023. Earlier in her career, she also worked at Facebook, now known as Meta, at their headquarters in Menlo Park.

Kate Rouch joined OpenAI as their chief marketing officer a month ago. Previously, she held the same position at Coinbase for three and a half years. Before Coinbase, she spent over eleven years leading brand and product marketing globally at Meta.

Elke Karstens succeeded Rouch, becoming OpenAI’s head of international marketing in March 2025. However, she didn’t transition directly to the role, first spending three months at the London paytech startup, Finom. Before that, Karstens had a decade-long career at Meta, holding several marketing positions.

In September, OpenAI added two new leaders from Coinbase to its team. Kaitlin Gianetti joined as head of integrated marketing management after four years as director of integrated marketing at Coinbase, and previously held a brand marketing role at Meta. Amy (Good) Robbins became brand insights lead, immediately after spending three and a half years as a senior manager of insights at Coinbase.

Nina Mogavero started a new role in marketing strategy and operations at OpenAI in December 2025. She joined OpenAI shortly after leaving Coinbase, where she had worked in marketing and strategy for three years.

According to someone with knowledge of the matter, the recent departures weren’t accidental. This source indicated that Rouch is central to attracting former Coinbase coworkers to join OpenAI.

According to sources, she hired many people, often recruiting them from Facebook. Kate Rouch didn’t offer any comment when asked.

A Coinbase representative downplayed the recent departures, explaining that while some marketing team members left for OpenAI last year, it’s a normal part of employee turnover. They stated that the team is large – over 150 people – and these moves shouldn’t be seen as unusual, according to an email from the company.

OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment.

It’s not just marketing teams that are increasingly interested in AI over cryptocurrency. Recently, Tom Duff Gordon, who used to lead international policy at Coinbase, joined OpenAI as their head of EMEA Policy.

Other Coinbase alumni who have headed to OpenAI include

  • Yi X, who joined the AI firm as product manager in April 2025
  • The head of design at decentralized trading platform Base, Alexandra Fitzroy, left Coinbase in October 2025 after just over five years
  • Abe Sprague left Coinbase in September 2024 to become a member of OpenAI’s data science team.

OpenAI isn’t alone in attracting marketing professionals from Coinbase. Just recently, Sarah Wolf, who led marketing for Coinbase’s Base network, joined AI company Anthropic after almost five years with the exchange. She’s now in charge of marketing for a new startup there.

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2026-04-23 11:01