‘I wish I had listened’: Fidji Simo recalls Zuckerberg’s advice to ‘play the long game’

Former OpenAI Applications CEO Fidji Simo has revealed that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once advised her to ‘play the long game’ after she turned down a year-long medical leave while working at Facebook. She now says she wishes she had listened.

Simo shared the story in a social media post while announcing that she is stepping down from her role leading OpenAI’s applications business to focus on recovering from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, a chronic illness she has lived with for the past seven years.

She said she became ill while working at Facebook, where she spent a decade in several leadership roles, and that doctors, friends, colleagues and loved ones encouraged her over the years to slow down. ‘Two years after I got sick, Facebook offered me the opportunity to take a full year of medical leave. I didn’t even pause to consider it. I immediately said no,’ she wrote.

She then recalled Zuckerberg’s advice at the time: ‘Zuck told me I should play the long game. I wish I had listened.’ Looking back, Simo said the same determination that helped her succeed also made it difficult for her to step away from work.

POTS affects the body’s autonomic nervous system and can cause fatigue, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, headaches and fainting. Simo described it as ‘jarring’ to spend her days helping build the future of AI while managing a disabling illness that currently has no cure. She is moving into a part-time advisory position at OpenAI, saying her immediate priority is recovery.

Responding to her announcement, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote on X: ‘i am really sad about this and very grateful for all fidji has done for openai, and even grateful for her friendship and who she is as a person. we all wish her the best for a speedy recovery. this sucks.’